Unforgettable
by Dragonfiz
Summary: Lex and Scar -Jaque'Su Knau- meet during his rite of passage in the warriors' temple... Who will live?... Who will pass on?... and Who will remember?... Updating chaps 1 - 4. Chap 1 UpD.
1. The Enemy of My Enemy

**Unforgettable**

**Nubian Dragon © 12/2009 (11/2012revised)**

**-o-o-o-o-Chapter 1-o-o-o-o-**

**The Enemy of My Enemy**

Alive, dead.

Dream, reality.

She could not decide which.

Dread surrounded her.

Lex was terrified. She was in a nightmare or at least she hoped she was in a nightmare because the things that had happened the last nine hours didn't seem real to her, could not be real, yet she knew that they were because she was the only person left from her party. One-by-one, they had been picked off as if they were ducks being hunted. She watched as the men she was supposed to be guiding thought the pyramid and back to the surface, be takened. They were taken or killed by either kind of the two different beings they were trapped between.

Remembering him, she wanted to cry out in despair, but she could not, would not, because it would not bring him back. It wouldn't bring any of them back and now she was alone.

In their last moments, Sebastian was so close she could feel his hand graze her; then he was drug away from her screaming. In horrid silence she clung to the damaged ledge unable to help the man being taken and unable to help herself. The scene played itself over and over in her head like a looped animated pic with no beginning and no end. The black serpent was there and neither of them had known. Looking just above his head and past his desperate face she had seen the black eyeless face behind Sebastian. For a brief moment she thought she recognized the black alien, but she couldn't have. She'd never seen the creatures before entering the pyramid. The elongated head had appeared in silence. In silence, the black serpent had seized Sebastian. Grabbed the last living member of her team and left her on her own.

Alone.

She didn't know how to get out of the hellish prison and she didn't know if she would ever get out of the primordial labyrinth alive. She had to try. Her spirit told her she had to try, but her mind told her it was futile.

Despair had seized her.

She had wanted to scream, scream and accept the same fate that the rest of her team. Scream and feel death's pain, but no sound would come out. The only thing she could feel were the tears streaming down her brown cheeks and her vision beginning to blur.

She didn't remembered how she pulled herself from the damaged ledge that wouldn't give her an opportunity to get a solid grip, but she had. She had survived and she didn't know which way to go.

Without consulting her brain, her feet began to move and in her fogged mind she ambled unaware. She walked not knowing how long she had been moving or where she was going.

Now she was walking down an ominously dark quiet corridor that led to who knows where in the pyramid. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks she didn't know where she was going or where to go, her wrist compass was smashed which compounded her problem of finding a way out of the pyramid. Slowly she continued to walk and listen. Not knowing if she would come across the serpent-like creatures or the large predators, she tried to keep her mind clear. All she could do was run from them and hoped that the serpents didn't sneak up on her first.

Just before she reached the fork in the tunnel, she paused trying to decide which way she would go. The tunnel was dark and cool, she was glad that she wore her layers even though she had lost her gloves and her hat. Gently she rubbed her hands together to warm them as she looked at her two choices.

_Which way,_ she thought to herself and she tried to get a sense of direction.

It was hard to judge because she was 2000 feet underground. She didn't have the stars or the wind to give her any hints. She was starting to get frustrated and paranoid standing in one place. To ease the stress she took her hair and started to make two braids. Braiding her hair usually helped her think straight and she needed to think clearly. By the time she had finished her second and last braid, she had decided which tunnel she was going to take.

When she took her first step towards the direction, she heard a deep guttural grumble. Lex froze in mid-step and the tears that she thought she had squelched returned and began to stream heavily down her cheeks.

_O my God, I'm dead,_ she thought.

Knowing what was behind her, she didn't want to face the truth. She wanted her death to be swift and sure sparing her as much pain as possible. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited, but nothing happened. Opening her eyes she decided to face her death with all the bravery she could muster. As she turned to see the predator that stood almost eight feet tall standing behind her with a spear in its hand, her heart sank. Again, she wanted to scream, but all she could do was cry and shake, no sound came out of her.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Quietly he tracked the _**ooman**_; it walked as if it was confused. It smelled of fear. Smaller than the rest of its pack, Jaque'Su Knau could see that it had no weapon, just his weapon that it carried on its back.

_Such a stupid creature,_ he thought _…an easy kill, not worthy of being my trophy._ He continued to think as he tracked the ooman. _I will kill it and I will get my __**caster**__ back, and then go after more challenging prey._

He continued to follow the ooman to see what it would do. He sighed in disgust, the scene was pathetic and the stench of its fear filled his scent glands even more; it walked with too much timidity and not knowing which direction to go made it a spectacle to watch, but even that bored him quickly.

"Time to die weak _ooman_," Jaque'Su Knau said in a low deep voice.

The ooman heard him speak and turned to face him. The horror that shown on its face was priceless. Jaque'Su Knau waited for it to scream, but it didn't. Only liquid flowed from its eyes and he could see that it was shaking; from fear, no doubt. Drawing back his throwing arm, Jaque'Su Knau heard the ooman speak.

"No! Stop! Please…" the ooman said and Jaque'Su Knau stopped to see what the ooman do.

_A challenge,_ he thought.

It would challenge him?

This would give him some satisfaction, but not much. If the pathetic creature would fight him, he would kill it even though there would not be much of a fight. He would kill the ooman quickly showing mercy and he might take its skull. This would be the first ooman skull in his collection, but it would not have been the clash he was expecting from an ooman. Oomans were prey to be respected, but the small one that was challenging him insulted him with the menial challenge.

_Tricky creatures,_ he thought to himself as he maintained his vigilance while facing the small creature.

He watched as the ooman reached to the sling that was on its back.

"It's going to use my own weapon on me," Jaque'Su Knau said and he drew back once more to throw his combistick.

"No… no… Wait… Stop… Stop… Please" the ooman said waving its hands in front of it and crouching low in a position of submission.

Next it began chanting.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The enemy of my enemy is my friend…." It continued to chant as it slowly reached to its back with its head down to remove a type of satchel from its back.

Watching and listening to the ooman repeat the strange words over and over, Jaque'Su Knau waited to see what it would do. He knew he was the stronger of the two being far superior in strength and skill, but the ooman was known to be a cunning creature with little to no honor. They could not be trusted and he did not trust the small one that was kneeling before him.

Being cautious, Jaque'Su Knau watched and readied himself to make the killing blow if the small ooman tried to move against him first. He waited and the ooman continued to chant as it removed the satchel from its back and began pushing it across the floor towards him.

_It's giving me back my weapon,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself as he allowed the ooman to return his weapon unimpeded. The weak pathetic creature is also _**a'ka-ad**_, stupid.

With a split second of warning, Jaque'Su Knau turned in the direction of the sound hearing the shrill hiss of the _**kiande amedha**_.

The thing had crept up on him quietly and had gotten close enough to him to hit him and make him drop his combistick, before he could react. Jaque'Su Knau cursed himself for being single-minded. Carelessly he had only focused on the threat that was before him, a threat which was no threat. For a moment he had forgotten about the true dangers of the temple during _**ş**__**uk**__**ỷ-**__**kirr**_**, **chiva, and was caught completely off guard.

Roughly the kiande amedha slammed Jaque'Su Knau into the wall molding his body print into it before he could push the creature off him. The indentation of his body print in the wall gripped him as he allowed his recoil momentum to release him causing him ram the kiande amedha into the adjacent wall.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

In horror, Lex watched as the two titans battled. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was like a scene out of one of those old Japanese Godzilla flicks. Screeching and roaring, punching and kicking, big battles big and she couldn't understand a word of what was being said. All she knew was that someone would lose and someone would win. Either titan winning was bad news to her, but she preferred the lesser of the two evils to be the victor.

_Escape_ came to her mind.

The desire to run was in her head, but her body was paralyzed to do anything. Instinct told her to move as far away as she could from the battling pair. When her back hit the solidness of the stone wall and she realized she could go no further, she prayed to God that she would become invisible and neither would notice her.

Alien growls and aliens shrills fill the corridor where they were and Lex sat in terror on the floor waiting for the brawl to finish. She watched as the two very different creatures punched and slammed each other into the walls.

The black serpent looked as if it had the upper hand when it rammed into the hunter and knocked its spear from its clawed hand.

Hearing metal scrape dangerously across stone, Lex looked to her right to see the spear that the big alien was going to kill her with come to a rest several inches away from her.

In an instant she heard it and involuntarily, she reacted.

A dangerous hiss sounded and she looked up in time to see the sleek black alien charge at her as it continued to hiss and shriek. It had decided that she was an easier target than the predator. Without thinking, she did what was natural, she grabbed the alien spear and stuck it out in front of her and closed her eyes.

Lex wept.

She knew she was dead.

She waited, but nothing happed so she opened her eyes. Tears of dread and fear continued to slide down her brown cheeks. Death was toying with her and she wanted all to be over. She wanted to be dead, but she wasn't.

She was alive and her instinct to preserve her life was greater than the emotional desire for death and to be out of the nightmare she thought she was in.

Her hands had a death grip on the alien spear and now she could feel that it was weighted.

There was a weight at the other end of the spear where the black serpent impaled itself. Lex could feel her heart pounding in her chest and the pressure thumping in her head, she thought both her head and her heart would burst at any moment. She looked at the black serpent up close, wanting to get a better look at the eyeless black monster that had dragged Sebastian away and possibly to his death. The black creature was hideous looking like something found in a nightmare.

_I am in a nightmare,_ she thought to herself as she trembled and the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

_In a nightmare with a black monster inches away from my face. Death why torture me this way,_ she continued to think wanting to die even more. The tears continued to flow.

Just when she thought the thing was dead, it screeched.

A high pitched sound that reminded her of a predatory bird signaling its make on its next kill. The mouth of the eyeless black alien opened so fast releasing what looked like a thick serrated metal hose with a set of incredible razor sharp spike shaped metal looking teeth at the end of it. There was no time to consciously react, all Lex could do was turn her head to the side and hope she didn't die.

Gripping the spear until her brown knuckles turned a lighter shade of brown; Lex wept and shook once more in terror. The inner mouth attacked her a second time and then the black serpent went limp. Lex could feel the full weight of the creature, it was dead.

Summoning her strength she didn't realize she had, Lex pushed the dead alien to the side and it crashed to the ground with a loud thump. Looking at the dead creature in disbelief, all she could do was cry silently and shake while her mind thought over and over; _this is not happening to me, this is not happening to me. _

Again the corridor was silent except for the heavy breathing that Lex knew was coming from her. Looking up, she saw the huge alien standing in front of her. Some way it had retrieved its weapon and had affixed it to its shoulder and now the thing was pointed at her.

_Oh god, it's going to kill me, _she thought.

She could see that there was a red beam and it was aimed at her face. Her face contorted in fear at the thought of death.

_Not like this,_ she pleaded to her higher power, _not like this._

The quietness was broke by a series of shrill screams and screeches. Instantly, the big alien turned its attention away from Lex and to the new threat. Immediately the red beam from the mask tracked its new targets and the weapon began to fire. One, by one, the weapon blasted the serpent aliens from the sides and the ceiling of the corridor destroying alien flesh and stone wall and ceiling in the process.

The more black serpents that were blasted the more that seemed to replace the fallen dead. Everything was happening so fast. Lex dared not move, just cried silently and watched. It had ended minutes after it started. The short lived attack halted when a resonating series of shrill screams and screeches where heard as they made their way from somewhere in the bowels of the pyramid. The black aliens, in the corridor ahead of the predator, gave off their own responsive screams and screeches as they receded into the dark recesses of the corridor.

Again the corridor went quiet.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Jaque'Su Knau cursed himself for being caught off guard; he was looking to the ooman one moment and the next he felt his side crash into the wall. He was under attack; his warrior instincts heightened and he did what came natural to him; he pushed back and hard. His combistick was knocked out of his hand and all he could think about was getting the hardmeat off him and getting his weapon back so he could kill the thing.

Once the kiande amedha was slammed into the wall Jaque'Su Knau looked around for his combistick, but instead found his _plasmacaster_. He let out a deep guttural roar of approval as he retrieved the weapon. He was surprised that the hardmeat had not made a second attack. When he looked up at the commotion several yards in front of him, he saw why the hardmeat had not attacked; it had found easier prey.

_The drone will kill the ooman,_ he thought as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. _I'll let the hardmeat kill the ooman, then I will kill the hardmeat,_ he continued to think as he retrieved his _plasmacaster _and attached it to its holder on his shoulder.

The encounter took a little longer than he had anticipated. He thought that the kiande amedha would kill the weak ooman in one attempt, but the ooman had proved to be resourceful even though it was overcome with fear.

Jaque'Su Knau watched as the hardmeat attacked the small ooman that was sitting against the wall and thought that the kiande amedha was doing him a service by killing the softmeat. At least he wouldn't have to do the job and then he could continue with his hunt uninterrupted. The ooman was weak and the skull wound not be worth the trouble, but the kiande amedha's skull would be a welcome addition to his fledging trophy collection. So he would wait for the hardmeat to kill the ooman.

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, he watched as the ooman impaled the hardmeat on his combistick. The ooman trembled under the weight of the hardmeat, but Jaque'Su Knau saw how it kept its composure. Watching the inner jaws of the hardmeat attack in its death throw Jaque'Su Knau nodded in approval thinking that both would die at the same time. Surprised, he raised a brow when he saw the softmeat push the dead hardmeat to the side as it continued to tremble in fear.

If he had not seen it for himself, he would not have believed it. The ooman was the victor.

"I'm impressed," said to himself, releasing a low growl of approval.

_This __**softmeat**__ is quite cunning, even in fear; nevertheless, I will still kill it, _he thought as he aimed the laser beam at the ooman's forehead. Three red dots pyramided at the center of the dark forehead.

A shrill scream erupted from behind Jaque'Su Knau; he turned in the direction of the sound…

"Kiande amedha," he growled dangerously as he took his battle stance.

Immediately the red beam from the mask tracked its targets and the weapon began to fire. One, by one, the weapon blasted the kiande amedha from the sides and the ceiling of the corridor. First he would use his _plasmacaster_, and next he would combat those that escaped the caster. The more that were blasted the more that seemed to replace the fallen dead. The serpent-like aliens exploded as the plasma tore through their bodies spewing acid blood and gore over the wall, floor and ceiling. A dangerous growl resonated deep within Jaque'Su Knau's chest he was hungry for the kill.

The short lived attack halted when a resounding series of shrill screams and screeches where heard as they made their way from somewhere in the bowels of the pyramid. The black aliens, in the corridor in front of the hunter, gave off their own responsive screams and screeches as they receded into the dark recesses of the corridor.

_The queen,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself.

His desire for the head of the gargantuan was strong, but he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take a queen down by himself.

Jaque'Su Knau watched as the kiande amedha departed knowing that he would see them again and he hoped that it would be soon. Turning around, he saw the small frightened ooman still sitting on the ground where he had last saw it; by now he thought the weak creature would have gotten up and run away, but it hadn't.

_An unworthy trophy_, Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself as he watched the water flow from the ooman's eyes. It welcomed death in a most disgraceful way, but he could smell the craving to live also on the ooman.

Disgusted that the ooman had dishonored its kill by leaking water from its eyes, Jaque'Su Knau walked over to the impaled kiande amedha to retrieve his combistick. Timidly the ooman watched and cautiously stood up making sure to keep its distance from Jaque'Su Knau. It was curious, but it was also afraid, it shook in dread as it watched him.

"Don't worry," he growled threateningly, "…my blades will not touch one as unworthy as you." He finished as he ignored the ooman.

He had wasted enough time with the ooman and he had taken no trophies. He had no trophies and the ooman was still alive. He had to admit, all was not lost; a good had come from the chance meeting. The only good thing he could say that had come from the encounter was the fact he had retrieved his plasmacaster.

_Time to go_, he thought to himself.

Pressing a small button with his index finger, the dangerous spear collapsed in on itself in Jaque'Su Knau's hand. Retrieving his weapon from the dead hardmeat, he thought about where in the temple he would go to continue his hunt.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

_It's going to kill me;_ Lex thought _…it's going to kill me!_ She thought as her eyes began to dart back and forth wildly looking for a place to run, but there was none.

If she ran, there was no doubt the hunter would catch her and kill her where she stood, if it gave her the opportunity to run.

_What am I going to do?_ She pressed her body up against the wall shrinking away from the huge alien.

In distress, she watched and the creature ignored her as it bent down to retrieve its weapon.

_Oh god… Don't let it kill me_, she prayed …don't_ let it kill me._ She continued horrified as she watched the alien stand to tower over her, then it turned its back to her and began to walk away.

_**What?**_ Was the only word that came to her head?

_It's leaving? It's leaving me,_ she thought and she wondered why the thing was ignoring her.

She was glad that it hadn't killed her, but now she wondered why it didn't. Twice within the last fifteen minutes it had tried to kill her, but it hadn't. Now it was walking away from her.

_I'm alive, _she thought in delight. _It's not going to kill me. _She was relieved for a moment and overjoyed at the prospects, and then it finally dawned on her that the huge alien was leaving her, leaving her alone.

She panicked.

_I can't defend myself against those black things. I can't stay here! I have to leave_, then she looked up watching the huge creature walk away.

"Hey!" she screamed, but the big alien kept walking.

He really was ignoring her.

"Hey, you big jerk I know you hear me!" Lex continued to scream at the big alien as she started to walk behind him.

Determined to get his attention, she yelled even louder. She was not going to be left behind.

"Don't you leave me! I know you hear me… I'm talking to you, you idiot!" she said and the alien turned on her with a growl and walked towards her.

That had gotten the hunter's attention. Now she had its full attention and it was walking towards her. She wasn't sure what she should do.

"Don't you leave me… I'm going with you," Lex's voice said as it trailed off and the alien come to stand right in front of her and looked down at her.

She was scared but she wasn't going to back down, her life depended on it. "I'm going with you," Lex repeated with a little more strength in her voice.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

As he walked away, Jaque'Su Knau heard the ooman talking, yelling, to be exact, yelling at him. He just ignored the human, he had a hunt to do and he hadn't collected one trophy. The only trophy that was worth collecting was the trophy that the ooman had earned, but he doubted that softmeat would collect it so it would stay with the rest of the dead drone.

The kiande amedha that he had killed were a hot acidy gore that was eating away at the sides, ceiling and floor of the temple, nothing that could be salvaged. He didn't want to salvage anything, he wanted clean kills. He continued to walk.

"Hey!" he heard the ooman say, but he kept walking.

It was starting to annoy him. He wanted no part of it, but it kept talking.

"Hey, you big jerk I know you hear me!" the ooman screamed again.

Now Jaque'Su Knau was past annoyed, he was sure the ooman had affronted him and he could smell rudeness in the ooman's scent.

_Did that pitiful thing just insult me?_ Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself, _couldn't be,_ and he continued to walk. His hearing perked when he heard soft footsteps behind him.

_Insult and a challenge,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought and he stopped.

"Don't you leave me! I know you hear me… I'm talking to you, you idiot!" the ooman shouted and this time Jaque'Su Knau, was sure his ears weren't playing tricks on him.

_The boldness of the pathetic creature,_ the hunter continued to think. _Boldness or foolishness_, then he turned to face the small challenger.

"Nobody calls me an idiot," he growled as he turned on the ooman and walked towards it.

His patience was worn and it was time to end farce and move on.

"Time to die you fool," he growled in a threatening manner and he approached the small ooman, in three strides.

"Don't you leave me… I'm going with you," he heard the ooman say as its voice trailed off. He stood right in front of the ooman glaring down at it through his mask and he cocked his head to the side.

"What?" he growled to himself surprised.

He could smell all about the smaller creature, it was trying to hide it with its body language, but he could see it in the ooman's eyes, sincerity.

There was fear and it did not want him to leave it alone.

"I'm going with you," the ooman repeated with a little more strength in its voice.

He couldn't help himself, Jaque'Su Knau let out a rumble of laughter.

_Was this tiny thing demanding that I take it me_, he thought.

He watched the ooman as it placed its hands on its small but ample hips in defiance and it was at that point that he realized that the ooman was female.

_Oh __**Paya**_, he thought to himself, _not on the hunt…_ he groaned.

Of all the things to encounter during _**ş**__**uk**__**ỷ-**__**kirr**_ and he had stumbled upon a female ooman. This was a very rare occurrence. Almost never did hunters encounter female oomans and in no way did they hunt them, hunting **lou-dte kalei** was forbidden.

"Do you understand me?" the female continued, "… you look like you understand me. I'm going with you. I'm going with you," she continued and it sounded more like an order than a request, as she took a challenging step towards him.

Jaque'Su Knau, growled low and the female and she backed away in caution.

_I can't leave the female here for the hardmeat, even though she is none of my concern, but to do so would be dishonorable and I am not a dishonorable hunter. Looking at the dead hardmeat on the ground, _he thought.

She had proved herself.

Jaque'Su Knau decided to give the female weapons so she could defend herself. He didn't think that she could protect herself, but some chance was better than no chance and he wasn't going to be a caregiver for the ooman.

Quickly he began to scalp the kiande amedha so the ooman could use the elongated skull as a shield. Being focused on the task at hand he worked using what was available to make her what she needed to protect herself.

Quietly the female watched with great curiosity as Jaque'Su Knau used this big knife to separate the sleek black skull plate from the kiande amedha's body. This didn't take long because his knife was razor sharp and he knew exactly where to make incisions to cause a clean separation.

Cautiously, she peeked over at what he was doing without saying a word. Jaque'Su Knau didn't say anything, just continued to slice and peel. Once he had removed the metallic skull, he noticed that the female's curiosity was heightened as she looked at the kiande amedha's brain matter. For a good laugh, he stabbed the part of the hard meat's brain that controlled the inner jaws. Without warning the inner jaws shot out dangerously and the female let out a very loud gasp in horror. He could see she thought that the hardmeat come from the dead to get her.

Letting out a rumbled chuckle at the female in good humor, Jaque'Su Knau looked up in time to see her suck her blunt teeth and rolled her eyes at him.

Realizing he was making jest at her, the ooman let go of her scent of fear and continued to watch with the curiosity of a young pup as he fashioned her shield and spear.

"What is that for her heard her say?" He sighed knowing that her ignorance would get her killed sooner rather than later.

It was of no consequence to him, if she lived or died. Her life was in her own hands; he would do the honorable thing to arm her. Arm her and let her know what she had as weapons and show her how to use them. He would give her the basics, but it was her responsibility to keep herself alive. It was a hunt, not some social gathering and he would not cater to her ooman foolishness.

Dripping the hard meat's blood on its skull and then on the floor of the temple he saw the female nod slowly as if she understood what the skull was for. Once he had finished the making a spear out of the tail, the small female tested it with several jabs to the air in front of her as if she knew how to handle a spear. Nodding in approval, Jaque'Su Knau looked at the female, thinking that she might keep herself alive for a little while.

"Let's go," he growled at the female, and then he trotted down the hall. She was keeping up at his side satisfied; now he was ready to hunt some kiande amedha.

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**GIVE a shout out to the Characters with your review.**

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Vocabulary/translation**

(Have fun with these words and translations… I did… feel free to use them)

_**a'ka-ad **_idiot, stupid

**caster (plasma) **a shoulder mounted weapon used by alien hunters

**kiande amedha **hard meat; xenomorph

**lou-dte kalei **"child maker"; slang for female

**ooman **human

**Paya **the feminine Yautja god

**plasmacaster** a weapon; same as caster

**softmeat **another word for human

_**ş**__**uk**__**ỷ-**__**kirr**_ **chiva**

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Please review this chapter. I would love to get your feedback.**

**I look forward to hearing from you!**

_**From The Author**_


	2. Into the Temple

**Unforgettable**

**Nubian Dragon © 12/2009 (11/2012 revised)**

**-o-o-o-o-Chapter 2-o-o-o-o-**

**Into the Temple**

Time.

Space.

Matter.

Energy.

When would they exit the pyramid?

Lex had been running for almost an hour.

Her watch with the compass was broken, but she did have a sense of time and it felt like the big alien had her moving for about an hour. She measured time by the pyramid shifting. Six times it had changed and they encountered nothing. She felt like they were not getting closer to the surface to escape, but instead, running deeper into the recesses pyramid. Going to a place she very much did not want to go. She wanted to leave. Get as far as she could from the black creatures and she needed the huge alien in order to do it.

Suddenly, the big alien stopped and Lex felt like she had run into a brick wall as she fell to the ground in a loud thump landing hard on her rump and losing her shield and spear in the process. Holding her middle and trying to catch her breath, she looked up to see the huge alien staring down at her. There was irritation in his tone as he growled at her then turned his attention back to what had made him stop in the first place.

"_**A'ka-ad,**_ Stupid, ooman," Jaque'Su Knau growled, "…watch where you're going and don't be so loud," he continued as he stared down at the small irritation on the floor in front of him. He knew she couldn't see his eyes behind his visor, but his body language was speaking volumes to her.

_I don't know if this was worth my honor_, he thought doubtfully as he shook his head in disgust.

He didn't want her ruining his hunt, he didn't want her around, but honor wouldn't let him abandon her. If she got herself conveniently killed, then all his problems would be solved.

Turning back to the corridor's intersection, he adjusted his visor from infrared to ultraviolet, there were three possible corridors to choose from and he wanted to make the best choice. By using ultraviolet he could track the hardmeat better. He knew that the heat signatures of the _**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro**_, kiande amedha, would be long gone, but with his ultraviolet vision he could follow them. He could see any trace of the creatures having been in the immediate area by tracking the chemical signature from their appendages and the drool that fell from their lethal mouths with ultraviolet setting on his visor. The chemical signature was not visible to normal vision or infrared, but could be clearly seen in ultraviolet. The darker the blue, the stronger the trail, he would follow the strongest trail to get him to the closet hardmeat. His luck was turning around and now he was ready to collect trophies.

Slowly he began to turn as he looked at the floor, walls and ceiling tracking the kiande amedha trail in ultraviolet. The signature in ultraviolet said they had been there. He could see their tracks, but he wasn't sure how many or how long since they crossed the intersection. The walls, floors and ceiling were heavily marked with the kiande amedha's chemical signature and drool. Jaque'Su Knau clicked and growled pleased with the discovery. Soon he would have trophies.

_This must be a major intersection,_ he mused nodding his head, _they must past this way at some point, but I will not wait, I will take the fight to them,_ he thought to himself.

He remembered that the corridors and chambers shifted in the temple adding to the intrigue of the hunt, but not the intersections. The intersections were havens and places of rest, if one had opportunity. Jaque'Su Knau was not ready to rest, this was the beginning of his chiva. He was full of life, energy and bloodlust for the _**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro**_, kiande amedha. Carefully he continued to turn, surveying in ultraviolet when suddenly his vision was obscured by something rather large. Instinctively he hit the thing hard with his right hand and he protracted his wrists blades as he took a defensively step back.

"No… wait…don't…" he heard a voice wheeze and he recognized the ooman.

"Dumb, _**a'ka-ad,**_ idiot," he growled in his own language, "…I could have killed you."

He finished upset as he retracted his wrist blades. Reaching a taloned hand to his visor and switching the vision back to infrared, the ooman's form came clearly into view. She was lying on the floor in front of him. He heard the female's heavy breathing and he smelled her fear. The strong scent said she was terrified and he had no sympathy for her. It was obvious, she had brought the assault on herself by getting in his way without identifying herself; had she not been there, he would not have not hit her.

_Maybe next time you will be more careful_ he thought _maybe you will stay behind me and out of my way_.

Not wanting a repeat of what just happened and wanting to keep her from under foot, he knew he had to communicate with her what he wanted her to do. There had to be an understanding between them, or at least she had to stay out of his way.

It was obvious she could not speak or understand yautja and he could not speak ooman. He could not speak ooman, but he understood it. He could understand the things that she was saying because he had only half paid attention to his studies of ooman language during his training as a youngling. During his preparation for chiva he learned what was necessary to survive and succeed in the hunt, to understand what was being said by the ooman. Ooman was worthy prey, high on the level of intelligence and their cunning nature made them more dangerous than any other prey that was hunted by yautja. Because of this, it was important to understand their speech. As he studied the ooman prey, all he felt he needed to know was what the oomans were saying. There was no need to actually communicate with them because he would kill them and take trophies. Why would you need to speak to them when you were killing them?

_Think, think,_ his mind began, _how can I tell… show the ooman that she should stay behind me?_

"I've got it!" he chirped and trilled at the same time as he reached out a hand to the small female on the ground in front of him.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

After dusting herself off and picking up her shield and spear, Lex stepped back and watched the huge alien. He had said something to her in his growling voice and although she didn't know what it was, she didn't think it was too nice. He seemed to be annoyed with her for some reason, but she couldn't see why. She'd done nothing to him and she hadn't even said a word. All she had done was run behind him trying to keep up so he wouldn't leave her. She cringed at the thought of being left behind. The way he ran through the corridors, she felt like he _**was**_ trying to leave her or lose her in the process of running to god knows where. All she could do was trust him to lead her out of the temple with her life, if she could _truly_ trust him.

Watching him, she noticed that he had touched the side of his visor and he seemed to be looking at something or listening for something. Lex looked and she saw nothing so she listened. She strained to hear what the alien was hearing, but the junction and the corridors were silent.

_What is he looking for?_ She thought to herself as she began to look around the open area also.

She knew he was looking for the black aliens, but why?

_Why would he want to meet up with those things, all they wanted to do was kill, _she thought.

She had seen how one had taken Sebastian away from her while she was hanging over the ledge. He was so close, and then he was gone. The screams, she heard his screams, he was calling her name, but she couldn't do anything for him. Helpless, she couldn't do anything for herself, just hang on the ledge and hope the thing didn't come back for her. Sebastian was gone and so were the others in her group. She had watched others die at the hands of the huge aliens, and she was sure that others were taken like Sebastian had been taken by the black serpents. Her heart sank. Now she was forced to rely on an enemy to help her get away from another enemy.

_He's looking for the black aliens_, she told herself, _because he is a hunter._

He was a hunter and the black aliens were his prey. Sebastian had told her what the markings on the walls were. They told the story of the alien hunt, and who all the players were along with the role each played. It was their right to be in the hunt, but it wasn't hers and she wanted no part of it. Fate would have it that the Weylan team would unwittingly stumbled upon the hunt, now she was a part of the hunt whether she wanted to be or not. It was not her hunt, but she knew would take part in it. The hunter would hunt and she would make sure she stayed alive.

Watching the hunter, Lex noticed how he carefully continued to turn.

_H__e's definitely looking for something_, she thought to herself.

Surely he can see that the black aliens weren't anywhere in the corridor and there was no sounds being made, just the gentle movements made by his own feet. So why was he acting like he was on to something.

_Strange creature,_ she thought waiting for the hunter to start moving again.

In silence she watched him as he turned a 360 degree circle searching up and down for something. Suddenly he stopped in front of her within arm's reach. Without warning, the hunter struck her across her chest as hard as he could which sent her flying to the opposite wall of the intersection.

Lex could feel the air leave her body and when she crashed to the ground she thought she would never breathe again. _God have mercy,_ her mind screamed because she could not say a word. Holding her chest and looking up at the hunter she saw the hungry dangerous blades spring out from the back of his powerful hands and lock in place at his wrists as he took a defensively step back preparing to attack.

_Oh shit!_ she thought, _now he's really going to kill me,_ she continued to think as she swallowed hard trying to suck in as much as she could. He was getting ready to attack and she had nothing to defend herself with.

"No… wait…don't…" she wheezed hoping to distract him. It hurt like hell to speak. She felt like her chest would explode, but she had to stall him.

If she could distract him, then maybe she could move out of his killing range so she wouldn't get hit with his first strike.

The large muscular alien stopped and stared down at her as if he didn't know it was her on the ground.

_How can he not know that he just hit me, _she protested, _he nearly bashed my chest in. Thank God for my snow suit or he would have succeeded._ She breathed in again thankful he hadn't hit her a second time.

Being around him was proving to be just as dangerous as being by herself, but she didn't think she would last too long without him even though she had a spear and a shield. She needed him and would have to be more careful around him so she wouldn't die prematurely.

She heard him growl something again at her and again the tone of the growl was not nice, which made her think that he had something personal against her.

_How can he not like me, _she thought,_ I haven't done anything to him. Mr. Weylan's team took his weapons, but I gave it back to him, why is he still upset with me_.

She didn't take her eyes of the big alien he was too unpredictable for her. One minute he's trying to kill her, next he's making weapons for her and letting her come with him, now he's trying to kill her again. She didn't know what to expect, but one thing she knew was that he was very strong and she didn't want to die by his hands. She wasn't fond of death, she didn't want to die at all, she just wanted to get to the surface and get out of this nightmare.

Cautiously she watched saying nothing more as he cocked head to the side to stare at her, then she heard metal moving across metal. She sighed in relief when she saw the blades at his wrist retract. There was nothing she could do if he wanted to stab her.

_At least he wasn't going to gauge me with his blades, maybe he will just snap my neck and be done with it,_ she thought. A quick death would be more preferable than a slow torturous one.

She was ready to die. Knew that there was a strong possibility she would die that day. Death was all around her. Death had claimed most, if not all of her party and now it was toying with her. She did not want to die, but she was making peace with the fact that she would meet death like the rest did.

_What is he doing?_ she thought as she watched him reach a taloned hand to his visor. _Oh no… he's going to blast me with his cannon,_ she thought as her mind panicked.

Lex began to breath heavy; she was afraid, very afraid. She knew what that cannon could do, she'd seen him pick the black aliens off one-by-one and they had a fighting chance. She, on the other hand had nothing. She didn't even have the strength to get off the ground. Lex closed her eyes and waited for death to take her, but it never came.

A series of chirps and trills sounded in front of her and Lex opened her eyes, and saw the hunter as he reached out a hand to her. Suspicious, she looked at the huge taloned desert colored hand that was mottled with various sized blotches, which varied in shades ranging from light brown to a charcoal black.

Was he helping her?

_This is some kind of trick_ she thought not wanting to be caught in the snare and she continued to look at the hunter's hand as if it were a viper ready to strike her.

He took a step closer and became more insistent by putting his hand inches away from her face. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the hand. Lex knew he wasn't going to remove it until she responded to it.

Lex felt her body be lifted from the ground and was glad until she felt the weight of her own body. She felt like she had a 200 lb weighted vest strapped to her torso. A 200 pound vest that threatened to squeeze her to death.

"Holy shit!" she swore when she felt a shooting pain in her side.

Her side hurt like hell and she felt like she had just been run over by a truck more than once. She wanted to scream out in pain from the wicked torment that was attacking her side, but she was too afraid. She didn't know if the big alien would hit her again or if her screaming would attract the shiny black creatures. Either way, she didn't want either thing to happen. She had to suck up the pain and hope the big alien didn't kill her before they left the pyramid.

_I hope he didn't break my ribs,_ she thought as she began to clutch her pain. The alien looked at Lex and made a move to touch her and she backed away.

"I'm okay… I'm okay," she lied as she fended him off.

She didn't want him touching her, he had done enough damage already and if he didn't touch her, he couldn't hurt her anymore than she was already hurt. In silence, she'd deal with her pain as best as she could. She didn't want him giving her any unwarranted attention. All she wanted was for him to get her out of the pyramid alive.

The hunter cocked his head to the side and stared at Lex curiously, and then he went to retrieve her shield and spear. She watched him as he quickly collected her things, which didn't give her much time to massage the pain at her ribs. From the way she hurt, she knew she was bruised, swollen or both. He waited for her to attend to her pain and then he gave Lex her weapons. He growled something at her and she looked at him like he was speaking Greek. She could see that he was frustrated because she couldn't understand what he was saying. He just stared at her and she at him.

_This is getting old_, she thought.

Next, he did the oddest thing; Lex thought he was trying to communicate with her through sign language. At least he was smart enough to try to communicate. It was apparent they would get no where if she kept getting in his way by accident and he kept hitting her. It would be best for him to kill her out right than to keep getting struck by him repeatedly.

_They must have simple minds,_ Lex thought, _that's probably why he can't express himself any better, _she continued to think as she watched him make the basic hand gestures and movements.

Watching and getting the basic gist of what he was doing, she could see he wanted her to do something. Hand movements were crude signing, but Lex got then general idea of it. He wanted her to stay behind her.

"You want me behind you," she said looking up at the alien and he just stared with his head cocked to the side.

"Stand behind you," she said as she made the motion of pushing something behind her.

She needed to be safe. Now was not the time to take chances or make mistakes. They could prove to be quite costly and she would be the one paying the price.

"Behind you," she repeated and the alien began to nod slowly. Lex nodded also knowing that if she was behind him then he wouldn't be able to hit her or mistake her for one of the black aliens. Being mistaken as a black serpent could be a painful miscalculation which she would defiantly end up having to suffer. He nodded again and Lex cautiously moved to stand behind him.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Time was escaping him and the ooman was proving to be more trouble than he wanted at the moment. Jaque'Su Knau's patience was growing thin and his prey was probably getting away from him. He was on chiva to hunt kiande amedha, prove himself and amass trophies, not look after the safety of prey. Live or die, in truth the ooman was not his concern. Both he and Paya knew he was wasting time with the ooman. If he did not have her following him, he would be further ahead in the hunt. He wanted to abandon her especially since she was acting like she didn't want his help.

_If she doesn't want my help, then I will retract it, _he thought, _let her help herself_, he continued to think wanting to finish his ultraviolet scan and find a good trail to follow.

He wanted to do something his conscious was not going to let him do, leave her where she stood.

_But what of your honor,_ came another thought, and Jaque'Su Knau sighed.

Knowing truth, he rumbled to himself. He had to keep his honor and do what was right regardless to how he truly felt. If he had no _**ziahk'var**_, honor, he was nothing. The female was annoying him to no end, but his honor superseded his distaste for helping her.

Jaque'Su Knau knew he had to convince the ooman to get up so they continue the hunt. He would tell her what he wanted, she would do it and his hunt would continue. Taking a moment, he thought, then he acted. In the least intimidating way he knew how, he extended his hand to her and waited for her to he respond.

_Take it… take it and get up_, he thought, he wanted to roar at her, but he was sure it would get him nowhere and delay him even further.

She looked at him as if he would bite her, but little did she know he would not waste his time and effort on sinking his fangs or teeth into something so pitiful and unworthy. After a few moments, the female reached for his hand.

_**Finally**_**,** he thought glad this little episode was coming to an end.

The clasp she offered to his large hand was feeble and weak, but he expected as much from ooman, especially female. The weight of a pup was what she felt like when he was handling her. As he slowly lifted her from the ground, she felt like nothing.

"Holy shit!" he heard her say as well as saw her grimaced as if she was in grave pain.

_I must have hit her too hard,_ he thought and he knew he had hit her very hard.

At first response, he thought she had been kiande amedha trying to creep up on him. The reaction was to kill first and take trophies second. For the brief moment, he had forgotten she was with him. He was in chiva and all was enemy and prey until he exited the temple with his trophies.

He hoped that he hadn't broken anything inside her, if he had, then she would begin to become slow. She would become a liability that he didn't have time for. Her weakness would force him to kill her honorably or leave her to face her death alone. There was no shame in dying alone especially if you died fighting. Knowing she was weak and pathetic, her end would come swift. She would fight feebly until she died which would give her honor.

She would not die now, so long as she was able to move on her own.

_I must check her injuries,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought, _if she is not salvageable, then I will know how long she will live before she becomes a burden._

He made a move to touch the ooman and she backed away.

"I'm okay… I'm okay," he heard her say as she tried to fend him off.

_She lies,_ he thought as he looked at her body in infrared.

He could already see the bruise he had given her. The size of the bruise was larger than his hand and covered most of her left side. She was strong for an ooman female.

_The pain, she takes it well for a weak female, _he thought as he tucked the information away.

He continued his scan of her and was satisfied that he had not broken anything or damaged any of her internal organs.

_She is durable, she will survive for now,_ he thought and he moved to retrieve her shield and spear.

As he returned he noticed that she was rubbing the damaged side of her body to soothe it. He knew she was in no condition to move with him and keep up so he would allow her a moment to recover.

_I'll give her some time, if it will help her,_ he thought as he waited for her to attend to her pain. Time passed too slow for him, after a couple of minutes he gave her weapons to her.

_I must tell her, her place_, he thought to himself, _but will she understand, this one is too dense and it will probably take a while, precious time that I do not have to spend on instructing. Oh __**Paya**__! Why me_, he continued to think and he groaned.

"Behind me," he said as he looked at the ooman, but she didn't understand.

_This is not working, _he thought and he tried to think of another approach she might understand. He needed her to understand what he was saying and he needed her to know sooner rather than later.

_She doesn't seem to be too intelligent so, I will communicate with her as if she were a pup, something simple and basic; _he continued to think to himself hoping that the most fundamental of communication the ooman would understand.

Turning slightly to the side he brought both of his large hands together and made a slight pushing motion as his hands moved behind him, then he stopped and pointed to her. She just looked at him and he repeated the gesture and turned to face the space behind him and pointed to her and then to the empty space behind him. Slowly she began to nod as if she understood him.

"You want me behind you," he heard her say as she looked up him.

_Maybe she's not so dense after all,_ he thought to himself, _at least she has the understanding of a pup,_ he continued to think as he cocked his head to the side.

"Stand behind you," she repeated as he watched her make motions as if pushing something behind her.

_Yes,_ he continued to think, _she has the understanding of a pup, so I will communicate with her as if she is a pup._

"Behind you," she repeated a third time and Jaque'Su Knau began to nod slowly.

The ooman nodded confirming she understood where her place was. Jaque'Su Knau was satisfied, now he could resume his tracking of the kiande amedha. He heard the female move quietly, he didn't want to startle her, but he wanted her behind him. Being compliant she moved to a safe place at the rear of him and he was pleased. Wanting to know if she would continue to obey him, he smelled what she would not speak, truth. Inhaling the air around her, he could smell that her fear had subsided to some degree, but she was still in pain from the blow he had given her.

He groaned at the thought injuring her and reminded himself that she had caused the accident and not him. Her ignorance had caused her injury, again, it wasn't him. Satisfied that she was safe he switched his vision to ultraviolet and started moving towards the darker markings of blue on the walls and floor.

He rumbled low to himself.

_They all so confusing_, he thought, referring to the trails of the kiande amedha. As he followed, all seemed well; for a moment he would think that he had a good trail then it would suddenly grow cold.

For several minutes he tracked, then suddenly he heard a shrill scream in the distance and he snapped his head in the direction of the sound.

"**Kiande amedha**," he growled as his _**ṃ**__**ờ**__**n**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**ai**__**r*r***_, bloodlust, began to rise. Anticipation began to consume him as his adrenaline increased flowing through his body. Moving on instinct, he spared only a moment to look back the ooman before he broke into a vigorous trot.

_She better keep up if she can,_ he thought to himself as he listened for another clue and then it came.

Pushing on, he ran to a second intersection not as large as the last where he had began tracking. As he paused, he heard another _**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro**_, kiande amedha, screech to his left. As if being drawn to the sounds on instinct, Jaque'Su Knau's body willed him to go to the sound. It was louder the second time which meant he was getting closer to the source. A couple more turns and Jaque'Su Knau knew that his prey was yards away.

Listening to the kiande amedha's screeching, he wasn't sure of the size, but he knew that there were at least two hardmeats for him to kill. Two trophies for his collection.

Turning, he looked for the ooman and was surprised that was had kept him in her sights even though she was at the other end of the corridor. Using sign language he motioned for her to move quietly towards him, but she stopped.

Softly shaking his head in frustration he groaned inwardly, _oh Paya_, he thought, _why have you cursed me with a dense one_ he continued to think as he turned back to look at the female.

As if in a daze, the female just stood like a statute unmoving. Slowly he beckoned for her to come towards him and she did, _thank Paya,_ he thought, _at least she learns quickly_.

He put his hand up to the mouth portion of his visor hoping she would understand that he wanted her to stay quiet and he also motioned for her to follow him. He could smell her fear, it was strong and he knew that she was afraid of the kiande amedha.

The fear she displayed through her scent suggested she probably realized that he had found his prey. Cautiously she obeyed him moving towards him as if she was walking on air. Listening, he heard more screeching of the kiande amedha glad they were too involved in what they were doing that they did not think about anything else or realize that he was stalking them.

Quickly, he prepared a battle plan for himself on how he would kill both hardmeats so he would be able to get his trophies with speed and accuracy. He would kill the first one swiftly with his shuriken then, he would kill the second in combat; both kills should end up being clean and he would be able to collect two rewarding trophies.

Stealthily, Jaque'Su Knau moved into the next intersection. Escalating as he moved, his _**ṃ**__**ờ**__**n**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**ai**__**r*r***__**, **_bloodlust, was elevating and his adrenaline was kicking into high gear. Confidence was strong with him, he could taste his victory and it was so sweet.

As he passed the third intersection, he used walls of the short corridor as cover to get him close to his prey without being detected. As he reached the end of the corridor that opened up into a medium sized chamber he saw his prey. Vigorously his blood began to surge through his veins with a force that over took him and propelled him into action.

Seeing his first kill, a medium-sized drone, he took out his shuriken flipping his wrist twice in a cocking motion which extended the blades of the shuriken to its full length. With death precision he threw it with speed and accuracy at the drone to his right as he let out a roar of death to his prey.

All his senses told him the second kiande amedha was also in the chamber, but he wasn't sure where the hardmeat was. The scent of his prey told him it was also in the chamber, somewhere to his left. As the shuriken cut through the drone's left front hand appendage; it let out a high-pitched scream of horrid pain and agony. To his left, Jaque'Su Knau heard movement and he looked in time to see the largest _**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro **__**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr,**_ warrior kiande amedha, he had ever seen.

Two drones he was prepared to fight, but not a _**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro **__**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr**_, warrior kiande amedha. Especially since he had only wounded the first _**ś**__**or**__**ạ**__**, **_drone.

"**C'jit**!" he swore when he realized that he had to change his battle plans.

The warrior was moving towards him and the drone he had injured was also moving towards him. At that moment he wished he had one of his hunt brothers at his back, but he didn't all he had was the female ooman and he was sure she was cowering in a corner somewhere with her fear waiting for the kiande amedha to take her.

Thinking quickly, he caught his shuriken and threw it deftly at warrior slicing into its thick amour. The creature screamed out in pain and annoyance, but Jaque'Su Knau knew the blades had not severely injured the creature. The blow would not kill or impair the warrior, but it would buy him some precious time. Making the attack on the _**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr**_, warrior with the shuriken was only a distraction for him to contain the smaller hardmeat.

Jaque'Su Knau was aware it would be a gamble, but at the moment he had to improvise and he had to do it quickly. Dexterously, he took out his net gun and maneuvered swiftly to a position on the side of the drone away from the warrior and he released the constricting net gun. The aim of the net gun was true. The smaller_** la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro**_, kiande amedha, screamed as the net began to tighten around it. Death was certain for the _**ś**__**or**__**ạ**_; the more the creature struggled, the tighter the net wrapped itself around the hardmeat's body.

Moving deeper into the chamber and away from the warrior, Jaque'Su Knau, made sure he kept his distance from the struggling drone. He didn't want any of its acid blood to get on him, nor did he want the creature to attack him while he was battling the warrior.

Angry, the _**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr**_, warrior, screeched at Jaque'Su Knau, in hatred as it ripped the shuriken from its metallic hide and threw the damaged weapon to the ground. In its rage and need for revenge against its attacker, the warrior charged across the chamber towards Jaque'Su Knau. Now the hunter was ready and welcomed the challenge of the warrior. With his own battle cry, the large hunter roared out in pre-mature victory as he charged at the warrior kiande amedha.

Slamming into each other, the large aliens locked up in battle with each trying to gain the advantage over the other. Jaque'Su Knau proved to be the stronger of the two as he forced the warrior backwards several feet, then gave the alien a power-packed punch that sent it railing backwards. The hardmeat screeched and screamed as it struggled to get up before Jaque'Su Knau made a second assault. Jumping from its prone position the floor several yards from the hunter, with little to no effort, the warrior was ready for more combat. Once on its feet, the black alien quickly whipped its lethal tail at Jaque'Su Knau in several attempts to stab the hunter. For his large size, the hunter proved to be very fast, with proficient agility. The hunter dodged the flailing tail as he made plans to grab it and swing the kiande amedha like a hulking mace.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Slowly creeping down the hall at the hunter's beckon, Lex quietly made her way down the dark corridor she knew there was danger up ahead, but she also knew that the hunter was in front of her too. Hearing the screeches and screams of the black aliens made the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect. The sounds terrified her and she wanted no part of them, but she wasn't going to be stupid enough to hang back in the corridor by herself.

Her heart started to pound in her chest. It felt like it would jump out her throat and choke her to death. The growing dread of facing the black serpents made her forget about the excruciating pain that had been in her side.

_Oh shit… Oh shit!_ She thought as she moved closer to the loud sounds.

She gripped her shield and spear tighter as if just holding them tight would miraculously protect her in some way. Protect her from the impending danger she was going to face.

_I can't do this, I can't do this,_ she began to thinking knowing she was so out of place and what was happening shouldn't be real, and it was a nightmare. A nightmare that had forced its way in her waking life.

_Get yourself together dummy or you're going to be dead,_ her brain yelled. The screaming in her brain was right, she could die if she didn't play her cards right and stick with the big hunter. He was he only way out of the pyramid and for the most part her only opportunity to survive.

Stopping, she held her breath not wanting to breathe. Not wanting to move, all she wanted was to disappear and be gone from that place, but it wasn't going to happen.

_Just keep walking,_ she coaxed herself and she did.

One foot in front of the other and don't think what was around the corner was what she had to do. Whatever was around the corner, she would have to fight and she would have to fight it fast and hard.

As she eased around the corner that led to the place where all the screeching and growling was taking place, she froze. Shock squeezed her and she couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her she saw one of the black creatures slithering down wall at the other end or the corridor. It was watching and waiting.

Shit got real for Lex. If she didn't do something, her only way out of the pyramid was going to be dead and he wouldn't know what killed him until it was too late. She had to preserve herself. She wasn't to lose her _only_ way out.

_Fuck,_ Lex thought, _the hunter doesn't know that thing is out here_.

Looking beyond the black alien waiting in the hall, Lex could see that there was another one that was caught in some sort of net. It looked like the same kind of thing Max was caught in before the other alien hunter stabbed him with his spear.

_Nasty,_ she thought as she tried to shake the image of the dying man from her mind.

Suddenly the hunter and a black alien that looked twice the size of the others rolled into view. They were punching, kicking, and clawing at each other; like they were in some kind of WWF tournament. It was real and this was no TV show, but a fight to the death and Lex hoped that the hunter would win.

A movement occurred at the entrance of the room where the titans were battling and Lex turned to see the black alien at the entrance starting to creep in to attack the unsuspecting hunter.

_Two on one,_ she thought as she realized what the smaller creature was going to do, _I don't think s. You're not going to kill my only way out of this hell hole._

Stepping out of the shadows, the woman made her presence known.

"Hey! Shit head," Lex screamed and the black shiny creature turned to face her. "… fair fight ass! You want be sneaking up on him today." She yelled as she started to run towards the creature with her spear hand out stretched and her shield protecting as much of her body as it could.

Realizing the threat behind it, the drone turned to face Lex as it let out a dangerous hiss.

"Fuuucccckkkkkkk….." Lex screamed as her adrenaline began to pound through her and she sped up her charge.

The alien let out its own high pitched shrill as it started running towards Lex. When they impacted, Lex continued scream as she forced the creature backwards and into the room where the other two aliens were fighting. The alien was clawing at Lex trying to scratch and claw at her but it could not reach her because of the length of the spear.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Jaque'Su Knau released the warrior kiande amedha and watched as it slammed into the far side of the wall. Turning his head to his right, he saw the most amazing thing. The small ooman was forcing a drone hardmeat backwards as she impaled it on the spear that he had made for her. As soon as he made eye contact with the pair, the kiande amedha dislodged itself from the ooman's spear and charged him. When the smaller drone was in striking range, Jaque'Su Knau punched the creature so hard it sailed across the room in the direction it had come.

"Don't you run from me, motherfucker," he heard the female shout as she ran towards the drone that he just punched.

Before he realized it, he felt himself move backwards as a sharp pain assaulted his midsection, he looked up and realized that he was on the ground and the warrior was running towards him, he had just a moment to turn his head to the side before the dangerous kiande amedha's tail stabbed down to where his head had been.

Quickly he rolled twice, away from the warrior, and then he jumped to his feet ready for the next assault. When it didn't come quickly, he looked and saw the warrior struggling to get his tail out of the stone floor. Taking the opportunity to attack, he charged the warrior and the hardmeat skidded across the floor and crashed into the wall. Immediately Jaque'Su Knau began relentlessly pounding the warrior without mercy as the other creature kicked and scratched at him while it was on its back. The immobilized kiande amedha screamed and screeched while the hunter roared and growled as he continued beat ruthlessly the downed warrior.

The warrior kiande amedha was down, but it still had some fight in it. The fight was that of live or die and each combatant was desperately trying to kill the other.

Finding a footing, the battered warrior was able to stand.

From the pounding he gave the warrior, Jaque'Su Knau could see that he was causing damage to the hardmeat and he was ready to end the fight. Taking a reflexive step back, he flexed his muscle, protracted his wrist blades. With one clean swift move, he severed the head of the warrior not giving the other creature an opportunity to react. The large, metallic head flew off the left of Jaque'Su Knau while the body crashed heavy to the ground, immediately the acid blood along with the creature's toxic innards spilled to the ground eating away at the stone beneath it.

"Die! Die, motherfucker, die!" Jaque'Su Knau heard the ooman say and he looked around the room to see her stabbing at the first kiande amedha he had trapped in his net gun.

The ooman was in _**ṃ**__**ờ**__**n**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**ai**__**r̥**__**r̥, **_Jaque'Su Knau could see. The only focus she had was killing the hardmeat in front of her. Knowing there was a third kiande amedha. He looked around for the hardmeat. Scanning the chamber quickly, he looked for the hardmeat she had attacked when she entered the chamber. The hardmeat was on the far side of the room. The hunter saw drone laying still several yards away from her; she had killed it.

"Die! Die, motherfucker, die and go to hell," he heard her repeat as she continued to stab the already dead kiande amedha.

As she kept stabbing the hardmeat, he realized that she was unaware of the acid blood that was beginning to seep towards her feet. Thinking fast, he rushed to the ooman and snatched her away before the acid blood touched her feet in the process she dropped her shield and spear.

The female began to scream and struggle in his arms as if she had gone mad. The hunter felt the small woman's strength and heard her struggling with life. She was breathing hard as if each breath would be her last. Her chest struggled as did her entire body. For such a small thing, she was difficult to hold on to, but Jaque'Su Knau did.

It took him a few moments but he safely pinned the female to the ground with the weight of his body. In her panic, she continued to breath heavy and struggle. Calm was needed. She needed to be brought from the place she was at and he began to purr. At first it seemed as if the soothing was not working and she wasn't hearing him. He would not relent, he needed to bring her back to him, the purring continued.

After several minutes he felt her body begin to relax under him. She relaxed, but her breathing was still labored. He felt her small body tremble under his larger one. She shuddered beneath him and he felt wetness at his chest. When he rose off her he saw that she had unrestrained amounts of moisture seeping from her eyes. The moisture flowed but no sound came from her.

_How strange,_ he thought and he smelled her as he continued to purr to her.

She had a confused scent. The scent the enveloped the female was a combination of fear, shock, hopelessness and triumph touched with madness. The ooman was becoming **hulij-bpe**, crazy.

Never had he imagined in all his life he would have an encounter such as the one he was having in his chiva. Prey had preserved his life. The strange small female he was holding in his arms had protected him and fought by his side. It was because of her he had not met **Cetanu**. She was worthy. Now, he would have to give her the respect that was due a warrior.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

In disbelief, Lex saw the black alien remove itself from the end of her spear as if it were a fish that had just wiggled off the end of a fishing hook. Her jaw dropped as she watched the thing run away.

_What da fuck,_ she thought, _that bastard is getting away and it's not dead, I have to kill it, I have to kill it, _she thought.

"Don't you run from me, motherfucker," she screamed as she turned to run towards the black alien, but stopped when she saw it airborne sailing across the room back towards her.

The alien crashed into a heap a couple of yards from where it had got off her spear.

Rushing to the twitching alien that was trying to stand up and fight some more, Lex screamed out again, "…die, you fuuucckkk… she said as she began stabbing the black creature with a fierce passion.

Every time she stabbed the alien with her spear it screeched out in tortured pain. Its screams was a confirmation of life and Lex wanted to make sure that the thing had no life in it so, she continued to stab it punctuating each jab with the word _**die**_. She had to make the thing be quiet and stop moving so she stabbed it until it was silent and unmoving.

Her adrenaline continued to rush through her and she moved on to the next alien she would stop moving and screeching. The alien caught in the hunter's net continued to struggle although it was not screeching, instead, it hissed wickedly at Lex giving her an idea of what it would do to her once it was free from the confines of the netting that was cutting viciously into its hard armored body.

"You want me," she accused, "…you want to kill me, you fuck…" she cursed at the alien.

The black creature hissed at Lex and tried to feebly swipe its restrained claws ay her.

"You can die to and go to hell, motherfucker," she spat at the alien as she stabbed it with her spear. The alien hissed dangerously at Lex and twitched; for its efforts, the net tightened around it.

Lex's anger began to rise and so did her adrenaline she wanted to kill and she was going to kill the second black alien that was trapped in the net.

"Die! Die, motherfucker, die!" Lex yelled through clenched teeth, stabbing the creature with each word she spoke.

She continued to stab the creature as if it was the only thing that was real. Stabbing and jabbing, stabbing and jabbing as her adrenaline and blood rushed rapidly through her body as if she would explode. All she knew was death. She was committed to kill all the black creatures because she knew she would not be able to leave the pyramid if they lived. Death would take them all so she became Death's handmadien as she continued stabbing and jabbing, stabbing and jabbing.

"Die! Die, motherfucker, die and go to hell," she repeated as she stabbed and jabbed, stabbed and jabbed.

Mindlessly she continued stabbing the creature not realizing that it was already dead. The acid blood of the creature began to leach from its lifeless body towards Lex.

Feeling something wrap around her and lift her from her feet, Lex began to struggle and in the process, she dropped her shield and her spear.

_Oh shit, it has me,_ she thought as her mind panicked in fear.

She knew she was going to die, but she was glad and proud that she had done her share of killing. She wouldn't let the alien take her easy so she continued to struggle and felt herself crash to the ground and a heavy weight fell on top of her.

Her struggle continued and then she heard something, it was a cat. No, it was purring. The purring grew louder and Lex began to feel at ease with the purring. She let the strange comforting sound soothe her and she began to calm down.

_Please God get me out of this nightmare,_ she prayed. She felt incredibly weak, weak and fragile.

Her body trembled as she began to cry in silent despair. The soothing purring continued and she felt a pressure lift from her body. When she opened her blurry she saw a metallic face looking down at her. The hunter's long black locks curtained her, shielded her from the outside that she knew was real.

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**GIVE a shout out to the Characters with your review.**

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Vocabulary/translation**

(Have fun with these words and translations… I did… feel free to use them)

_**a'ka-ad **_idiot, stupid

**c'jit **shit

**Cetanu **God of Death

_**hi'ans-ftiats **_ huntlust

**hulij-bpe** crazy

**kiande amedha **xenomorph

_**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr**_ warrior

_**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro **_kiande amedha

_**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro **__**ś**__**or**__**ạ **_drone kiande amedha

_**la**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**es**__**•**__**ġ**__**ae t**__**•đ**__**a**__**ệ**__**ro **__**ķ**__**p**__**ỉ-**__**orr**_ warrior kiande amedha

_**ờ**__**n**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**ai**__**r*r***_ bloodlust

**ooman **human

**Paya **Yautja female god

**Softmeat **another word for human

_**ś**__**or**__**ạ **_drone

_**ziahk'var**_ honor

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Please review this chapter. I would love to get your feedback.**

**I look forward to hearing from you!**

_**From The Author**_


	3. Trophies

**Unforgettable**

**Nubian Dragon © 1/2010 (12/2012 revised)**

**-o-o-o-o-Chapter 3-o-o-o-o-**

**Trophies**

Strength.

Power.

Rage.

These three elements, Jaque'Su Knau knew had saved the ooman and allowed her to defeat not one, but two, kiande amedha. She had found her courage and was blinded by fear, which took away reason.

She had survived, _but to what end,_ he thought as he looked down in her dark eyes.

Her brown eyes were touched with fear, but there was something feral lying just beneath the surface of her fear, ferocity. Ferocity was the lack of discipline, the wildness that made him a little uncomfortable, but respectful of the female.

Not knowing how she would respond to him, and not knowing if she had come out of her blinding rage, he continued to purr to her hoping she would calm down. He didn't want her to turn on him and attack him. If she did he understood he would have to harshly restrain her and she might die in the process.

Moving in a ragged fashion, he felt her small chest rise and fall beneath him. She struggled to breath. He wasn't sure if it was because of his weight or if it was because of her thrill over the battle. Maybe it was the thrill of battle. He hoped that his weight was not too heavy. He was certain such a small creature couldn't support his weight, but she surprised him with her fortitude. He would not doubt her ability to support his body weight, but he would not test the theory. It was his intent to press her to the point of restraint, but no more than that. He wanted to get off her; however he also wanted to know if she was in control of her emotions and mind.

"Are you okay?" he asked in his language, and then he realized that she would not understand.

Simple communication. Even now he had to use the rudiments of hand language to communicate with her. Hand language was needed especially since her mind and behavior was chaotic and unsettled.

_Threat her as a pup,_ he thought to himself, then he took a brief moment to think about how he would communicate this to her.

As he rose up off her body slightly, he continued to purr. He could feel the tension leaving her, but he could see the ferocity still beneath the surface of her eyes.

_Calm the rage,_ he thought, _calm the rage. _

His long black locks curtained and shielded them from the outside world and he was able to have her focus on him and connect with what he was trying to do, calm her. Her tear stained dark face turned to his own which was covered by his helm. Pleased, he could see her eyes were locked onto his helm like they were searching for him, trying to find him as she stared into his mask.

_Good_, he thought, _she wants to connect with me, she wants me near her, _and he continued to purr.

She relaxed even more.

_Yes, yes,_ he thought _slow and easy, calm and relaxed, calm and relaxed. _

Higher, he lifted his body from her as he continued his purring. The small female continued to stare and search for him behind his mask. Pushing himself up onto his hands, he continued with his purring and he made sure their eyes remained locked on each other. Listening to her breathing, it sounded as if she had gotten it under control, he trilled with satisfaction. The intense rage in her eyes had died down to the point where he felt he could release her and she would do no harm. Now on his knees he straddled her, waiting a moment to see if she would be wild and uncontrolled, but she wasn't she just lay still waiting for him to get completely off her.

"You will be alright," he purred soothingly in his language, and then he stood up and towered over her.

Looking down at the female's prostrate form, he realized her true size. She was _**ů**__**•**__**o**__**š**__**r**_, tiny, she looked very small laying the ground before him.

_I could have crushed her,_ came an afterthought and he winced at the notion.

He had to remind himself that even though she had fought the kiande amedha ferociously, she was still ooman and still fragile.

There was a loud swishing sound, then a thunderous boom sounding as if something had crashed. Both the hunter and the woman turned towards the direction of the sound and were able to see a large slab of stone move to the opposite of the short corridor from where they had entered the chamber. Another slamming sound was made and then another, the temple was re-configuring itself. Jaque'Su Knau wasn't sure if he had heard the temple shift while he was in battle with the kiande amedha, but he was sure that it had. The timing was precise and configuration dynamic, so it must have happened, but he hadn't noticed. The shifting seemed to also not affect the large doomed chambers; they appeared to be places for fighting to occur without interruption.

"No…" he heard the ooman say weakly as she reached a hand in the direction of the sliding stones.

Then she closed her eyes knowing they could not go back the way the entered the chamber. She tried to rise up from the ground, but she couldn't. He saw her struggle and he extended a hand to help, but she batted it away as she spoke,

"… no, I can help myself," she said in a rough ragged tone.

Jaque'Su Knau did not dignify her with a response; he started walking over to the warrior kiande amedha to collect his trophy. Even though she fought with him, he would not lower himself to beg to help her.

He knew the temple was shifting every ten minutes and he didn't want to find a new passageway open up and he be unprepared to meet the hardmeat horde if it came to the chamber. Pulling out his large sharp ceremonial dagger, once he adjusted the warrior's head for drainage, next the hunter proceeded to the drone that the female had killed and he separated the drone's head from the rest of its body. It was a perfectly good kill and he wasn't going to leave it behind even though the ooman didn't understand the significance of the hunt and the glory of taking trophies. Once the acid blood had drained from both severed heads, Jaque'Su Knau poured the stripping solution on the shiny black metallic heads and immediately the color was eaten away along with any soft brain tissue and muscle material that was attached to the skull. He knew that this was a rush job, but he had to start the process. Applying the base stripping solution would be enough for a pre-cleaning so he could put the skulls in the mesh sack that he attached to his person. When he returned to his clan's hunting vessel; he'd do a much thorough job and make his trophies perfect for his display wall.

-**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Lex wrapped her arms around her chest hugging her body, she was in pain and she felt it everywhere. Her lungs felt tight like she couldn't get enough air into them and when she tried to stand, her head pounded like it was being hit with a jackhammer. Trying desperately to alleviate the pain in her chest and the pounding her head, she feebly rolled herself in a ball and hoping she could wait it out

While waiting for the pain to pass, Lex heard a loud swishing sound, then a thunderous boom sounding as if something had crashed hard into something else. Still weak, but wanting to know what the loud noise was, she turned in the direction of the thunderous sound.

_What the…_ she thought as she rolled onto her side and opened her eyes just enough to see what was happening in the passageway she had been in earlier.

There was another loud slamming sound and then another, _the pyramid is re-configuring itself, _she thought.

She began to panic and her breathing sped up, which made her chest tighten, because she was having difficulty taking in air. All she could think about was being unable to move and another onslaught of the black aliens piling in the room to attack them. She was helpless; all she would be able to do was lie there and wait for them to kill her.

"No…" she said as she weakly reached a hand in the direction of the sliding stones as if she could stop their movement.

_No, no, please God not like this,_ her mind wept as tears began to stream down her brown cheeks, then she closed her eyes knowing that they could not go back the way they entered the chamber.

_I have to get up, have to stand,_ she thought as she tried to rise up from the ground, but she couldn't. Her mind was willing, but her body was too weak; she continued to struggle. On her third attempt to stand, she looked up and saw a large hand extended to help.

_I have to do this on my own,_ she thought as she fought back a scream. _I can't be weak, he won't carry me, so I'll do this on my own, _she continued to think.

She groaned in pain, it hurt so badly. She didn't want the hunter to know; she didn't want him to abandon her because she was injured. She would not dismiss the thought of him leaving her. He seemed to be no non-sense and he wanted you to carry your own weight if you were going to be with him. She was tied to him and needed to be with him because her life depended on it. She needed him more than he needed her. She had a feeling that he viewed her as a burden and disliked the idea of her being with him, but for some odd reason, he let her follow him.

Not wanting to seem rude, but wanting to take control over her situation, she gently pushed his hand away as she spoke.

"No, I can help myself," she said in a ragged breath that bordered rough.

She watched the huge alien as he just ignored her and walked away as if she wasn't there. She felt a stab of hurt from the coldness, but she was determined to get up on her own two feet. After several minutes, she was able to rise up on her knees, but her chest still hurt. Each breath she took was a challenge, she knew she had to do start moving on her own and she didn't have all day to do it.

Slowly she stood up as she hugged herself. _God this hurts,_ she thought to herself, then she coughed and spit. There was blood in the saliva and Lex began to panic.

_I'm bleeding inside, _she thought; _I'm going to die_. Her brown eyes grew large as her mind began to panic. _Please God, not like this, not like this God,_ she prayed.

She began to cough and wheeze violently and the hunter turned and cocked his head to the side as he regarded her and her current situation. Lex knew the alien was looking at her and she turned her back to him so he wouldn't see what she was doing.

_If he thinks I'm hurt, then he will leave me, _she concluded.

She didn't want him to see or think she was injured. With her back to him, she coughed again with more control and then she spit in her hand. Looking at the slightly pink mucus in her hand, Lex smiled and nodded satisfied with the lack of blood.

_Maybe I'm not bleeding inside,_ she thought glad, _but it hurts so bad, _she sighed and she felt a presence very close behind her.

Slowly she wiped the spit on her snowsuit, and then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She heard the alien growl low and she froze. He growled a second low guttural sound, but she didn't respond, just stood still. She heard him move behind her and she watched as he came to stand in front of her. Looking up she stared at his face covered with metal.

Cocking his head to one side, Jaque'Su Knau regarded the female curiously, _what is she hiding,_ he thought, _why is she acting so mysterious_.

He didn't like secrecy on the hunt. Secrets could get one killed, if one wasn't careful.

"Look at me," he said in yautja as he let out a low growl, "…what are you hiding." He continued as he stood in front of her.

The female looked up at him with frightened dark eyes and said nothing. She didn't smell devious or suspicious, just concerned and frightened; although she looked like she was hiding something.

"Whatever it is," he growled softly, "I will find out and when I do, you will regret it," he warned, but the female did not understand.

There was another loud series of swishing, stone moving rapidly over stone, thunderous booming sounds and Jaque'Su Knau knew the temple was shifting again. The temple was re-configuring itself and it was time for them to leave the chamber.

"Here," he said as he shoved the ooman's kiande amedha spear and shield at her, "…it's time to go," he finished and he rushed to retrieve his mesh sack with the trophies in it.

His dreadlocks rustled loudly as he turned suddenly. Lex took her weapon and shield as she groaned. The sting of her injury was still with her, she needed more time. Needed more time, was still in pain and she wasn't ready to leave but she knew she had to go. Grabbing her backpack that had been knocked off in the process, Lex put the thing securely on her back. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself then she trotted out of the chamber behind the hunter.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

In silence, they ran, with the hunter leading and Lex following. She was able to keep up with him although it hurt with every step she took. She knew he had slowed his pace for her so she tried desperately to keep up. Controlling her pain, she tried to coordinate her breathing and her movements so her pain wouldn't be so bad. She didn't have the luxury of complaining so she reserved her energy. They had been running through the ever shifting maze and she wasn't sure when she would be out, or if she would even get out of the pyramid alive. She wanted to maximize her chances of survival by making sure she had the energy and strength to fight again if she needed to.

She had hoped that it would be a while before they fought the black alien serpents again, but fate said, _**No. **_The hunter had paused at the current intersection and knelt down touching the stone floor in front of him. He was inspecting some type of clear mucus gel with a large taloned hand. Lex took this time to quietly lean against the wall to collect herself and get her breathing under control. Although she wasn't hurting as bad as she had been an earlier, her body was still tender and breathing was uncomfortable at best.

Putting her weapons quietly on the ground, she turned her back to the alien and unzipped her snow jacket. She wanted to see the damage that was done to her ribcage. Once her jacket she pulled up her sweater and layers underneath. She gasped loudly in horror at what she saw. She heard a rumble behind her and she immediately lowered her sweater.

_Shit,_ she swore in her mind, _no need to alert him,_ she scolded herself.

Without warning, another loud series of swishing, and stone grating over stone began. Lex looked up and saw a large slab of stone move across the floor in front of her.

"Oh shit!" she sounded and she grabbed up her shield and spear turning to run full speed towards the alien.

A thunderous boom sounded, but Lex did not look back. She kept her eyes on the huge alien and thought; _I've got to get to him, run... I've got to get to him!_

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Running and sniffing the air, Jaque'Su Knau tracked the kiande amedha. The trophy bag bounced at his back containing the two hardmeat's head, but soon he would add more to the collection. Turning down several passageways he ran, trying to keep the hardmeat's scent fresh. On a couple of occasions the scent had run cold, but Jaque'Su Knau was able to quickly adjust and pick up the scent again. In silence he continued running hoping that the ooman would keep up with him. Deliberately slowing his pace for her benefit, he wanted the female to stay near him. He wanted her to keep up with him on her own, not keep up with him because he had helped her.

_She will keep up,_ he thought. He didn't have to look back to know that she was still following, her light footsteps told him as much. _She is durable; she will survive for now,_ he thought again. _If she survived the encounter with the kiande amedha, and is able to run with me; she will be able to fight at my side._

_Ahhh,_ he thought as he paused at an intersection, the kiande amedha's smell is strong. Looking around to determine which direction the strongest scent came from, the hunter slowly turned. _They have been here recently and the scent comes from all directions,_ he thought not getting a true since of direction.

Squish, a sound under his foot was made.

The hunter looked down seeing a yellow and red glob at his right foot. The shapeless thermal image was projected in his helm. Pausing at the current juncture Jaque'Su Knau knelt down touching the stone floor in front of him.

_**Te'dqi,**_ he thought as he touched the alien gelatinous substance.

All around him it happened, the sound of stone sliding over stone. Hearing the sudden loud noise made Jaque'Su Knau snap out of his investigation and he stood up. Turning in a circle and hearing the crashing sound of stone all around him, he acknowledged the shift.

_The temple is shifting, _he thought to himself abruptly.

In the passageway from where he had come he saw the ooman running towards his screaming something he didn't understand. The female quickly made a beeline towards him. He was impressed with the speed in which she moved. He didn't think she could sprint that fast, but obviously she could.

_The weak pyode amedha has the speed and agility to move like yautja, _he thought.

As he watched the female, he saw that she did not have the grace of yautja as she moved, but she was able to stay ahead of the moving slabs of stone as they shifted quickly behind her. Watching, he could see that the small female moved with determination and purpose.

As the last ton of brick altered behind her, the ooman slammed hard into the hunter's chest. The force of the impact jolted the large alien. Had he not been as big and as strong as he was, the impact of the small female crashing into him would have toppled them both to the ground. Dropping her weapons on contact, the female gripped the hunter tightly not willing to let him go. She pressed hard against him and he felt her body under the layers of clothing. He could hear and feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

_She is very afraid_, he thought as the female clung to him.

Hearing her breaths as they came strained and ragged to her, the hunter allowed her to hold him while she collected herself. _She must be calm_, he thought as he began to purr to her.

Slowly her breathing became controlled and she began to relax. Another minute passed and he began to pry the ooman from his waist as he continued to purr to her. At first, she did not respond to his efforts to remove her small arms from around him.

_The ooman has strength,_ he thought as she continued to cling to him. _Even in her weakness she shows strength, _he mused seeing another side of the female.

He was beginning to see that oomans, or at least this ooman was not as predictable as he was taught. Surprises she was giving him and he was sure there would be more to come.

_I must get her off me,_ he thought.

By applying a little more pressure he was able to force her from his body. Realizing that she was clinging to him, the hunter saw the female's head hang in shame. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground and refused to look at him once he was free from her clutches. Letting out a low growl he saw the female as she inched away from him and her weapons that lay at his feet.

When the final slab of stone slammed into place Jaque'Su Knau looked around the space that they were in, he recognized the intersection for what it was a haven.

"Rest," he said in a low growl.

Taking a step back Jaque'Su Knau viewed the female with his infrared vision. He could see that her breathing was still labored this caused him concern. From the thermal setting he could see the ooman had bruises at her abdomen and there was some bruising at her lungs, but they were not damaged.

"Good," he reasoned in a low growl.

She had been useful and although he didn't want to admit it, he needed her.

_**Hult'ah,**_ he thought.

She had covered his rear and made sure no hardmeat attacked him from behind. Had the ooman not been at their last battle, with the kiande amedha, he would be dead. He had no idea the hardmeat had crept behind him for an attack, but the ooman had. She had seen the hardmeat and attacked it. He witnessed how the female had lost all inhibitions and was transformed at that moment into _**yeyinde**_**.** He was proud at how she fought the kiande amedha although he sensed that she was also touched with _**hulij-bpe.**_ Nevertheless, she had fought and killed the hardmeat that would have ended his life and taken his chiva away from him.

_M__**ei'jadhi**__,_ he thought as he looked down at the female who was looking up at him apprehensively.

Now she was his hunt sister and together they would complete chiva and bare the mark of his clan. Briefly, he thought about his two hunt brothers and hoped they were doing as well as him.

A soft gasp escaped the ooman's lips and Jaque'Su Knau saw the female press her hand against her bruised ribs. She was trying to be subtle, but he had seen the slight movement. Touching his helm, he switched the viewing from thermal to natural. With natural viewing he realized wouldn't give a detailed crisp view of what he wanted to see but he'd be able to get a general color spectrum viewing. In this setting ooman's eyes are superior, but yautja do not need natural vision for the hunt.

"Comer here," the hunter said in a low growl once he had adjusted his vision, but the female took a step backwards and stared at him.

_I don't have time for this_, he thought as he stepped towards the female and grabbed her shoulder firmly.

She began to struggle, and then he began to purr. She stopped struggling enough for Jaque'Su Knau to lift her layers so he could see her bruise. The bruise to her ribs was an ugly thing. He saw his hand print on the female's skin as a dark-brown to black coloring. He could see it was darker than the ring that had formed around it; and it also contrasted with the natural brownness of her skin.

_This is not my fault,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought as he frowned at the bruising, _had she been behind me this would not have happened._

He touched the female's flesh and he felt her shrink away, then she relaxed as she looked down at his big hand on her side. Her flesh was warm. His purring rose slightly and the female looked up at him. There was concern in her eyes and scent, but not fear. Slowly he moved his fingers over the darkest part of her body being careful not to scratch her or break her soft skin with his talons. Next his index finger moved to the ring around the large bruise; he let his index finger trace the outer ring. He could feel the outer ring was warmer than the temperature of the rest of her skin. Finally, he let his fingertips glide over the rest of her dark skin.

"_Pyode_," he rumbled as he let his fingers linger a little longer than they should have.

The female was soft, softer than the male oomans. Because of this, her being softer than the males, made her more fragile. Even though she was female, he could not compare her to a yautja female, they were indeed two distinct, but similar creatures.

_She is damaged,_ Jaque'Su Knau concluded thinking as he lowered her layers, _but I don't have time to fix her and she will not admit that she is damaged._

He thought about using his medikit on her, but decided against it knowing that her physiology was different from his and he could end up killing her when he was trying to help her. For now she would have to endure the pain. He hoped she had the strength to continue the hunt. It would be a shame to lose her.

Letting out a low growl of frustration he took a step back from the female.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

All Lex could see was the alien in front of her as she ran as fast as she could directly towards him. Loudly the stone slabs crashed behind her sealing off any option of retreat. Securely the giant slabs of stone locked into place as they changed the configuration of the pyramid.

_Please God let me reach him,_ she thought.

She didn't want to be separated from him, if she was, then she'd surely die. She hoped no stone launched out in front of her cutting off her only route to the huge alien. Her mind began to panic and she struck something hard. When she crashed into the solid force, she become conscious of dropping her spear and shield in the process. For a moment she thought she was dead, then she felt the warmth in addition to hearing the twin beating of hearts.

_I made it,_ she thought and she held on to the alien like she'd never let go.

Closer she pressed her body against his warmth and continued to hold him. She didn't care too much for him or his kind. Not to mention what they did to prove themselves worthy. At that moment, all she could think about was how glad and how lucky she was, she had made it. She had made it to the hunter and she was not letting go, no matter what.

Lex wasn't sure how long she'd been holding on to the alien, but she heard purring which made her aware it had been a while. She relaxed a little then felt a strong pair of hands clasp her wrists. She jerked her body holding the alien tighter and thought, _Noooo_… She didn't want to separated from the alien. He was her security, her assurance that she'd get out of the pyramid alive.

Finally, she felt her arms being forced as her wrists were held by a gentle iron clad grip. The purring continued, but Lex felt her arms being pried from the alien's waist. Looking up she saw the hunter's visor staring down at her and she was immediately embarrassed. She looked at the stone floor unable to face the alien.

The big alien gave her a look, even though she could not see his eyes, she imagined them saying it was a bit much and she needed to stop. She would have done and thought the same if someone was squeezing her the way she was squeezing him.

_I'm acting like a frightened child,_ she thought as she continued to stare at the ground.

Embarrassment covered her like a red shameful cloak. She couldn't apologize for her behavior, she didn't know if he understand or accept the apology. Finding a little self-respect, she recovered as best she could. Slowly, she backed away from the hunter.

_He probably thinks I'm a scared idiot_, she continued.

Truth was, she was in an insane situation. It was akin to a nightmare that had gotten out of hand. A very bad dream she could not control and now she wanted to be back where there was calm, safety and peace. At home in her overstuffed lounger is where she wanted to be drinking hot cider, but she'd settle for getting out the pyramid _alive_. Leaving the underground prison soon was a whimsical hope. It wasn't going to happen too soon and she knew it.

Standing in front of the alien, Lex waited. It was his move, his choice to decide which direction they would take. She didn't know what he would do, but for now she was safe with him.

She watched as the alien took a step back from her cocking his head to the side and looking at her. Raggedly, she breathed trying to catch her breath. She'd had difficulty breathing ever since he had hit her in the side. Lex pretty much had her breathing under control unless she stressed herself; and running to him had been very stressful, so now she had problems.

_Why is he looking at me like that_, she thought. _I hope he doesn't see that I'm having a hard time with my breathing, _she continued to think as she deliberately began to slow her breathing as she stood erect.

In silence she stood wanting the alien to see that she was okay and fit to be with him. He looked down at her in silence and turned his head curiously looking at her. She didn't feel okay with his silent scrutiny, and if he decided she was too sick to continue with him, she would protest and force him to take her with him. She wasn't sure how she would force him, but she would.

A muscle shuddered in her side and a soft gasp escaped Lex's lips. The contracting of her bruised muscles hurt and she pressed her hand against her injured side, nonchalantly. She wanted the unruly thing to stop. It was going to cause her to be left behind.

_I can't believe this; _she thought mentally scolding herself for responding to the pain. _Now he knows that I'm hurt, _she thought as she scolded herself again, as she pressed her side firmly hoping it would soothe her spasmodic muscle.

Looking to see if the alien had heard or saw her touch her side, Lex let her hand ease to her side, as if there was no problem. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself if none was already there.

_Damn,_ she thought as she saw the alien staring straight at her. He began touching the side of his visor, _he heard me_.

The hunter said something in his language in a low growl, but Lex didn't know what it was. Caution made her move carefully around the big creature. She didn't think he would hurt her, but the sound of the growl that came with the clicking and chittering told her that whatever he was saying wasn't good.

Without warning the large hunter stepped forward and grabbed Lex's shoulder firmly, she began to struggle.

_Let me go, _she thought, she wanted to scream at him, but she didn't think it was a good idea to start yelling.

She heard the familiar soothing purr of the alien then she looked up at him.

He looked at her and continued to purr. Lex liked the purring. It allowed her a chance to escape the madness around her while it helped to compose her. Soon she stopped struggling and the alien lifted the layers under her snow jacket.

_Shit!_ She thought to herself, _he knows that I'm hurt_.

Lex stood still and stoic as the alien visually examined her, since she knew she couldn't hide her bruised side any longer. She couldn't hide the fact that she was hurt, but she didn't have to act as if she was I pain even though it hurt like hell. She'd pretend it was nothing and it would be forgotten at least by him.

Feeling the alien's touch, Lex naturally shrunk away. She didn't want to respond to his touch, but it hurt. Shrinking away was milder than screaming at the pain and she wanted him to finish his inspection of her. He looked directly at her and took his purring up half an octave.

Lex looked up at him again thinking, _why are you touching me, _then she looked down at his hand and relaxed.

There was no deliberate intent to cause pain, so she let the large desert colored hand touch her side. The alien's fingers felt cool on her warm flesh. It felt good. Slowly she felt the fingers move over the darkest part of her body. She watched as they moved noticing how he was being careful not to cut her or puncture her soft skin with his sharp nails. She felt his index finger move to the ring around the bruise; and then she watched as he let his finger trace the outer ring of the bruising.

_Shit,_ she thought when he touched that part of her side. The pain jolted through her.

It hurt more than the rest, but she wasn't going to let him know how painful it was. Her mission was to get out of the pyramid alive and in one piece. She didn't care if the one piece was in pain, she could deal with the pain. She didn't want to be left behind.

Finally, the alien's fingertips glided over the rest of her side and she heard him say something in his alien language. It sounded like it was one word that floated among the series clicks and chirps that was embedded in the deep rumble that came from the alien. She felt the fingers remain a little longer than they should have, but she didn't complain, she just wanted the prodding to be over.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

In the distance Jaque'Su Knau could hear the temple shifting, but no change came to the intersection where they waited. The air in the small chamber was stifling with an aged ancient dry musk, Jaque'Su Knau welcomed the ambiance of the small chamber but he could see that his hunt sister was having difficulties. He hoped that she would be able to continue to run with him on the hunt.

When the slabs of stone began to shift into the new corridor, Jaque'Su Knau's head snapped towards the direction of the moving rock. Lex looked at towards the newly forming passageway and groaned.

_Not now,_ she thought, _I'm not ready._

Sighing, she looked at the hunter knowing he would soon be on the move again. She wasn't ready, but it didn't matter, so long as she could keep up with him.

Looking at the ooman, Jaque'Su Knau could see that she didn't look good. He wasn't sure if she'd be able to continue with the hunt, but now wasn't the time to find out. The last passageways were shifted opening the new entrances. Jaque'Su Knau gestured to the ooman to pick up her weapons, it was time for them to leave.

"Let's go," he said to the female and watched as she got up from the ground with a little difficulty. Once she was on her feet he turned towards the entrance and started to trot down the corridor.

_I hope she can keep up with me,_ he thought grimly and he didn't look at the female.

Lex looked at the alien as he gestured towards her shield and spear, he was ready to leave. Mustering up the strength and courage she needed to continue, Lex went over to the weapons and retrieved them. They felt heavy in her hands and she recognized that her body was weak. She was pushing herself and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. She was feeling dehydrated and malnourished. It had been well over nine hours since she last ate anything and knew that she had to eat soon or she'd faint from undernourishment before exhaustion or pain over took her.

_If I could just get a drink, _she thought and she began to trot behind the hunter.

Forcing herself to run beside the alien, Lex was glad he had set a pace where she could run beside him and not get too far behind him. She didn't want a repeat of the last shifting; she may not be so lucky.

In silence, Lex ran at the alien's side as they twisted and turned through the pyramid's maze-like corridors. She had no idea where she was going but she trusted the alien, she had no other choice. Currently she wasn't in control of her situation, he was. Lex knew the only thing she was in control of was running and keeping up with him, falling behind or catching her breath was not an option.

Slowly she felt pain creeping in her legs and she understood she had to keep moving in order to keep the aching at bay. If she stopped running she didn't think her body would be able to move again, it was getting stiff. The spear and shield she carried took a lot of effort and energy for her to hold. Lex wanted to toss the items to the side giving her more vigor to run, but giving up the weapons would leave her quite vulnerable when it was time to fight. Distressed, she sighed to herself and focused on keeping up with the alien. As they moved, she got a strange feeling they were being herded, but the hunter was choosing the path that they took. The fine hairs on her back began to rise and Lex's mind started to prepare for the unknown.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Up ahead of them, Lex saw a slightly larger than usual intersection with four possible entrances to choose from. She didn't think the hunter was going to rest, especially not on her account. He would get to the intersection and sniff out the black serpents.

_Which way will he choose, _she thought as they drew nearer to the junction's center.

She could feel him slowing his pace and she was glad. He'll probably take a moment to figure out which way to go and this would give her a chance to catch her breath and her strength. A small rest was what she needed.

Slowly they moved into the intersection, Jaque'Su Knau was alert. He could smell kiande amedha all around him.

_Where are you, you __**pauking**__ hardmeat,_ he thought and he searched for their heat signatures.

Using his tusks, he switched through the modes of vision to find the best tracks to follow. There were so many tracks and they all seemed to be very fresh. Electing to use his sense of smell as a tool, he sniffed the air for the hardmeat scents for clarity and got a shock instead.

_Heat,_ he thought and he looked at the female beside him. _My senses are betraying me,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought.

This was not the time to think about mating. He knew he could have mated a female before his chiva so he would taste the _rut_ in case he failed, but he had no intentions of failing. He had every intention of passing and gaining much honor so he would have choice of mate from the better-quality yautja females, instead of being a charity case or mating an inconsequential female. If he sired a pup, he wanted the pup's bearer to be just as worthy as he was. He let out a low growl of irritation as he shook the thought away from his mind. This was no time to think about mating. He continued to search for the kiande amedha's heat signatures.

He heard them before he saw them and their sounds came from all the corridors, even the one they had just left. He saw the small ooman go rigid at the sound of the kiande amedha.

_Good,_ he thought, _she is alert._

"_**Dtai'k-dte sa-de nav'g-kon dtain'aun bpide**_," he said as he looked down at the female who was looking up at him. The fight was starting and it would not end until they were finished. Jaque'Su Knau had every intention of himself and his hunt sister being the victors. There was no fear, only anticipation about her. A hunger for battle had replaced the fatigue he had seen earlier in her. She nodded to him as if she understood what he had just said and they turned their backs to each other preparing themselves defensively for the attack they both knew was soon to come.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Lex didn't know what the alien had said to her in his language, but she sensed that they were going to start fighting and he wanted her ready. She wanted to be ready because her life depended on it. There would be no time to catch her breath or gather her strength. Realizing the fact of the matter, Lex pushed away her fatigue, hunger and pain; and she made herself ready. She could feel her adrenaline beginning to pump through her. Her head was getting full and she growled to ease the sensation. She was feeling the anticipation of the fight beginning to swell inside her. She wanted to fight; wanted to kill, wanted to engage the black serpents in combat.

They positioned themselves back to back so they could protect each other. Slowly the hunter began to shift around in a circle as he kept his attention focused on the entrances to the intersection. Lex followed the big alien's lead and watched for the black serpents. She wasn't going to let them catch her off guard. If they killed her she would go down fighting and she would make sure to take as many of them as she could with her.

Looking to the corridor at her left, Lex saw the first black shiny creature as it crept silently from the passageway. It was acting as if it were invisible. She saw it and if the huge hunter didn't see it, he knew that it was there. The pair at the center of the junction of the passageways continued to slowly circle as they watched for any signs of more black serpents. They had a feeling there were more. Both the hunter and Lex would not strike until they determined exactly how many they would face.

Unexpectedly, the sound of stone grating against stone echoed in all five passageways; the shrill blare of the black aliens resonated in all five corridors. Like locust they poured into the chamber as the walls of the corridors transformed behind them threatening to crush them in its wake.

Lex reacted before she realized what she had done and had thrown her spear at the black alien to her left as it launched at her with its claws bared to assault her. In mid-air the spear had picked off the black creature and stopped it in its attack. Lex licked her lips in surprise. She had taken action and had prevailed, the alien was down, but now she had no weapon.

_Shit,_ she thought as she began to looks at all directions to see where the other aliens would come from. The straining screams of the rock being forced over the stone surface of the floor coupled with the deafening shrills and screeches of the black aliens made Lex's adrenaline pump even faster. _Kill, kill,_ her mind began to chant, but she needed a weapon. She glanced at the downed alien as it kicked in death. She wanted to take the spear from its body to use it again but realized it was it would make her too vulnerable.

Hearing a crash behind him, the hunter looked over his shoulder to see an impaled kiande amedha kicking and struggling in its throws of death and he growled pleased. The ooman had made the first kill. She was fast and skilled. He appreciated that.

"_Mei'jadhi,"_ he trilled in respect.

He watched as five more kiande amedha poured into the chamber as the last of the stone slabs sealed off the five corridors and immediately the kiande amedha began circling them. They were all drones and they were ready to kill with the same passion as all kiande amedha had.

_She has no weapon,_ Jaque'Su Knau realized as he felt the female's presence at his back.

He knew that he had to remedy the problem because both their lives were at stake. In one swift fluid move he took his _**naginata,**_ his spear, from its place strapped across his back and protracted it to its medium length. He didn't think the ooman could control the weapon at its full length and he didn't want her to injure herself on the sharp blades. Growling, he got the female's attention and they turned to face each other. Quickly, he gave her his weapon and stepped around her so their backs were facing each other again.

"Now we fight _mei'jadhi,_" he growled and he released his trophy bag from his back and he stepped forward to meet the drones that were close to him.

Reaching for his shuriken, the hunter understood he had to thin the ranks of the hardmeats so they would not have the opportunity to attack him at once. If he had to face all four hardmeats, that had separated him from the female, he would be hard-pressed to fight on whim. Fighting on a whim was usually dangerous for those who didn't think about what they did. With one calculated flick of his wrist he extended six lethal claw shaped blades. With deadly precision he threw the ravenous disc-shaped weapon at the closest kiande amedha and weapon cleanly sliced though the creature. The death was so abrupt; the black serpent had no time to scream out. The drone lingered in mid-step for just a moment and then it collapsed dead on the stone floor. The remaining kiande amedha did not waste any time to fill in the opening that their fallen comrade had made. The three remaining drones circled Jaque'Su Knau, all looking for their opportunity to attack.

Lex felt the alien weapon in her hand; it felt light, but sturdy. It was a welcome sight. The hunter was aware of what she needed and had given it to her. Gripping the weapon, she looked at the black serpent in front of her; it was watching her circling her, sizing her up. Lex moved with the alien making sure she kept it in front of her at all times. From the corner of her eye she could see that the hunter had killed one of the black aliens and now he had three to deal with.

_Today you die,_ Lex thought to herself as she moved with the alien.

Suddenly the alien rushed at Lex. The thing was a blur, it moved with the speed of a cheetah. Not being ready for the attack, all Lex could do was point the spear in front of her hoping that the creature impale itself on the razor sharp blade. She felt the alien brush against the weapon as it pivoted her slightly, turning her in the direction that it had run. The alien turned to face Lex. Its eyeless shinny face stared at her, as its left side twitched. Lex could see that the creature was nicked by the hunter's spear. A green thin mucus like liquid began to seep from the new wound. Lex growled satisfied with her efforts. She wanted to finish what was started. Cautiously the alien watched Lex as it bared its metallic teeth in a sneer as its lips curled back and a thick clear liquid dripped from its rabid mouth. It looked as if wanted to attack Lex at that moment, but the spear in her hand held it at bay. Slowly it began to circle her again, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Lex gasped as she felt her uterine wall contract violently.

"Shit!" she breathed heavily as the cramp hit her hard. "This is not the time GRANNY!" she screamed as she clutched her abdomen.

She was fighting an alien, she felt like shit and now her period was coming on. Looking up in time, Lex saw the alien running to charge her.

"You dirty fuuucccckkkk…." Lex screamed as she ran to meet the alien's charge.

She was incredibly annoyed, the creature had waited for her guard to drop and it attacked. Her adrenaline pumped through her body as she moved. Her muscles were trying to cramp from fatigue and threatened to cripple her. Lex fought the pain, now was not the time to be crippled, it was fight or die and Lex had no intention of dying.

Dropping her left shoulder and protecting the left side of her body with the alien head shield, Lex charged the black alien beast as she screamed death. Her hand clutched the hunter's spear and she readied herself to deliver the killing blows to the serpent. With the shield she crashed hard into the alien and she heard it shrill wickedly in pain. She felt a hot burning sensation on her right shoulder. It was painful, but she didn't have time for pain. She had to forget what she could not master and keep it moving; she screamed out at the pain as she gripped the spear tighter as she continued to move forward. At first she felt resistance, but she pressed on and screamed at the pain that was biting into her right shoulder.

_Die... die...,_ she thought as she forced the black serpent, which stood several noticeable inches taller than her, backwards.

She forced her spear hand forward as she twisted and turned the spear as she moved. The alien continued to shrill loudly; Lex felt as if her hearing was leaving her. Soon the resistance lessened and Lex pushed the alien backwards more easily. She didn't stop pushing until she felt the creature crash into the wall; only then did she leave the protective cover of her shield to view the damage she had done.

The alien was a gory mess and very dead. Lex took several steps back and pulled the hunter's spear out of the dead serpent's carcass. Her chest heaved in pain as she breathed and her head pounded as if it would explode at any moment. She saw the acid entrails of the alien seep out of its mutilated body and she stepped back. She recognized how dangerous the gore could be and she had to be careful or the alien would gain a victory over her in death. Turning to look at the hunter, she saw that only one of the black aliens still stood. She was glad they were winning, but she had to catch her breath and get herself together.

Before she could put her shield and spear down, to her right she heard as sharps hissing sound as if air was being forced out through a hose. Then she heard the sound repeat to the left of her. She only had time to react. Dropping the shield, she clutched the spear in both her hands and held it tightly. When she turned to the right to investigate the first hiss she saw a sickly puss colored creature that had the grotesque shape which looked like a cross between a long-legged crab, a female spider with a large droopy bulbous rear that had a snake's tail and a long trunk like proboscis jutting out from its under belly. The thing was sailing through the air with its crab-like appendages moving as they were outstretched and coming directly at her face. Turning the spear so the blade's sharp edge was away from her face she moved the spear she was holding with both hands forward and the creature was cut clean in two. Not having time to think about what had just happened, Lex turned just in time to see the second creature leap out at her and this time she made sure that the spear's blade met the creature.

The second creature was cut in two, but Lex wasn't so lucky with the third creature she didn't know was leaping to attack her from the rear. The thing jumped on the back of her head and became tangled in her hair as it held on to her and tried to move so it could position itself onto her face. Screaming, Lex dropped the spear and started grabbing wildly at the back of her head, trying to take the alien from her head. She ran blindly around the chamber clawing at the thing that was not being phased by her tirades of screaming.

"Get it off! Get if off!" she screamed as she grabbed at the thing at the back of her head.

She heard the hiss and blow air out of the long trunk like tube that looked like belonged on a dwarf elephant. Its snake-like tail moved to try and wrap around her neck, but Lex put her arms up to prevent the thing from securely latching on to her.

The second drone made its attack and Jaque'Su Knau punched the hardmeat in the side of its black shinning head sending it flying across the room to crash against the wall. As the hunter was has pounding the second drone, a third tried to attack. The kiande amedha started doing what he thought they would do, attack as a group.

"Stop them now, slow the attack," he growled out loud instructing himself on what needed to be done.

Hastily, he flexed his right and his _ki'cti-pa_, wrist blades, appeared. Reflexively he brought his bladed arm up and sliced through the drone's elongated head severing its eyeless face from the rest of the head. The creature crashed hard to the ground without twitching or moving.

The fourth kiande amedha crashed Jaque'Su Knau from behind knocking the hunter forward and to the ground. Quickly recovering from the attack, the hunter turned in time as the sharp devilish pointed tail of the hardmeat stabbed down where his head had been moments earlier. Mustering his strength, Jaque'Su Knau kicked the alien hard sending it across the room to crash against the wall. As he stood, the second black alien rushed him and Jaque'Su Knau stepped to the side raising his huge arm to the side _clothe hanging_ the hardmeat. The alien shrilled and hissed loudly as its feet flew from under it. When it suddenly hit the hunter's arm and crashed solid to the ground with no chance of recovery. Lifting up his powerful foot, Jaque'Su Knau stomped heavy twice on the alien black shiny elongated head, then backed away. He watched as the creature went through its final throws of death.

Jaque'Su Knau's lust for battle swelled inside him as he gloried at the number of hard meats that were falling by his hands. All he could think about was getting the last kiande amedha.

_I will have you,_ he thought as he saw the creature recovering from the pounding he had given it.

Looking to his right, he saw his spear on the ground, and then he looked for the ooman. He saw her on the far side of the chamber and she was screaming swatting violently at her head. The hardmeat had recovered enough to challenge the hunter as it ran towards him at full speed. Thinking quickly, Jaque'Su Knau grabbed his _naginata,_ and extended it to its full length and engaged himself in the hardmeat's attack.

"_**Nain-desintje-da**_" the hunter roared loudly as he charged at the kiande amedha.

When the two collided, both screamed stridently as they wounded each other. The kiande amedha clawed at Jaque'Su Knau's exposed torso slicing him in the process before the yautja was able to gouge it with his spear.

"_Nain-desintje-da_" Jaque'Su Knau growled in victory, as he punctuated each word with a menacing jab.

He felt the hardmeat go limp at the end of his blade and he roared again in absolute victory as he hurled the dead creature from his spear and it smashed solid against the chamber's wall.

A sharp hissing sound as if air was being forced out through a hose brought Jaque'Su Knau out of his victory celebration.

"_**Z'skvy-de**_," he hissed as a growl rumbled in his chest.

He hated the facehuggers. They were more dangerous than the hardmeats because they were tricky and sly even though they were small. If they over took you, then you would surely meet _**u'sl-kwe**__,_ the final rest of death.

Hearing the sounds from three directions, the hunter was aware that there were three facehugger poised to attack him. He held onto his _**ki its-pa**_ and he reached for his _**shuriken**_ simultaneously. The first z_'skvy-de_ attacked from the left and Jaque'Su Knau sliced the creature in half with his spear. He winced at how close the facehugger had crept up to him before he had known it. The second attack quickly followed the first and the hunter twirled his _ki its-pa_, spear, in his massive hand and struck hard at the second facehugger as it sailed in the air towards him. Moving on instinct, he threw his _shuriken_ in the direction of the blur that was coming fast towards him. Slicing the z_'skvy-de_ in half while in mid-air, the hunter quickly surveyed the chamber to see if there were any more of the creatures lurking about.

The screaming and ranting of the female got his attention and he turned towards her. He saw the ooman running uncontrollably around the chamber as she pulled and clawed at the top of her head violently.

"Z_'skvy-de,_" he growled as he saw the facehugger on top of the female's head as it tried to wrap its serpent's tail around her neck.

"_**Dtai'k-dte**_!" Jaque'Su Knau roared encouraging the female to fight against the facehugger.

_You will not have her,_ the hunter thought as he rushed towards the female.

"Be still… be still…" the hunter shouted in yautja, but Lex continued running and screaming.

Calling to the female was useless, she did not understand him. Because she could not understand, she would not stop running. He would have to catch her before he could help her.

_She does not understand me,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought.

In several long strides, he reached the shrieking female who was unaware of his proximity to her. Grabbing Lex firmly by a shoulder, Jaque'Su Knau made her slow her running, and then he began to purr to her knowing it would calm her. Next he gripped the facehugger by its serpent tail and by the top of its horizontal head as he pressed its trunk-like proboscis backwards in an unnaturally painful position. The creature hissed and snorted in pain as its crab-like appendages released the female's head. He saw the female collapse to the ground. The z_'skvy-de_ struggled in the hunter's strong grip. Jaque'Su Knau wanted to crush the alien in his hands, but he knew that it would not be such a wise decision considering his hands could be burned and damaged by the thing's acid blood.

Slamming the creature hard to the ground, Jaque'Su Knau saw it had stopped moving and twitching for a moment.

"_**Thei-de**__,"_ he roared as he slammed his large booted foot down over the facehugger crushing the thing into the stone floor.

His large chest heaved in satisfaction of his _nain-desintje-de,_ his pure win, his absolute victory. Surveying the chamber for any sign of life, he was satisfied when he only heard the slow ragged breathing of the female that was slumped on the floor where she had dropped after he had removed the chest buster from her head.

Not sparing the female a second glance, Jaque'Su Knau went to assess the quality of their kills.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

The hunter was pleased with what he saw, the majority of the kills had been clean and the ones that weren't so clean he reasoned he could salvage something from them. He hoped that he would have enough time to retrieve their trophies before the temple shifted and they had to be moving again.

After he had severed the heads and tails of the kiande amedha, and positioned them for proper drainage, he went around the room searching for the weapons he had used on the hardmeats. All of his weapons were retrieved and he was satisfied that they were in very good condition. There was little damage done to them by the hardmeat's blood and he attributed that to the fact that the weapons were used swiftly and weren't allowed to linger in the acid blood for any length of time.

Once the ooman's hardmeat spear was retrieved from the kiande amedha's carcass, Jaque'Su Knau began making the severed kiande amedha tails into _**bakuub**_**,** straight spears. The female had displayed the ability to throw, so she used the _bakuub_ as javelins if she wanted to throw them at the hardmeats. He didn't mind his hunt sister using his _naginata,_ but he would prefer that she had her own throwing weapons. Because of her capability to throw spears he would make her at least two for her to use. He would also make a couple of _bladed knuckles_ by cutting some of the tails shorter. He didn't know if she'd be able to use the _bladed knuckles_, but he reasoned that she was a fast learner and he would be able to demonstrate the basic usage and techniques so she would have a general idea of how to fight with them.

Quickly he moved to construct the new weapons. He wanted to get as much done as he could before the corridors shifted again and opened a new passageway. After roughly, but efficiently constructing the new weapons for the female, the hunter went to do a basic preparation on the kiande amedha's skulls. When he picked up the skull whose face was severed, Jaque'Su Knau got the idea of converting the face of the kiande amedha into a mask for the ooman.

_If she has a mask, then she will be protected from any attacks by the z'skvy-de, _he thought liking the idea.

As soon as the soft tissue and brain matter were eaten away by the stripping solution, the hunter began to create eye slits on the eyeless face of the hardmeat mask so the female would be able to see. Giving the inside if the mask a rough polish so it would be smooth against the ooman's skin, the hunter trilled. He was pleased with his handiwork. He had the ability to create weapons from almost anything and making weapons from the hardmeats was a testament to his skills. When the polishing of the inside of the mask was finished, the hunter searched in his trophy kit and found some mesh netting that he used as a backing so it would secure the mask to the female's head.

"Perfect!" he said knowing that Dohn'dro, his chiva master, would be proud of his efforts at making the weapons.

Lex lay on the ground, but she was not dead. She lay still for what seemed like forever as she grew weaker and her breathing became shallower.

_All I want to do is sleep,_ she thought to herself as the energy drained from her body. _Sleep._

The crash had come. The adrenaline rush was over. All the adrenaline and vigor she held onto to get her to this point was leaving her and she wouldn't fight to keep it. It felt good laying on the floor unmoving, not fighting.

_So peaceful,_ she thought _so quiet_.

She felt weightless, like she was going outside of herself. She was unraveling from all that affected her. All that assaulted her. All that took her life and strength away. She felt tranquility. She was drifting. Slowly floating away from all that stressed her, all that made her living difficult. The negative energy that was choking her was gone in addition to her hunger and pain; they were fading. She felt nothing, she was filled.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

The pain in her side that threatened to rip her apart was now a light pulse. It rippled through her like a moth's wing fluttering against the wind. It was as if being hit by the hunter never happened. She was pleased, no pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

She remembered the alien claws that had dug deep into her shoulder, threatening to rip the limb from her body. Now, the attack was a faint recollection.

No pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

Her breathing began to slow. Breathing was easy, not stressed. There was no tightening in her chest, no gasping for air into lungs that felt as if ravenous.

No pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

Her head that was assaulted by the spider-like alien was numb. She remembered the thing had attacked her. Leapt on her head and dug its crab-like claws into her flesh as she fought it. She remembered the battle, but the hurt was far from her, a dim memory.

No pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

Her legs, she couldn't feel her legs and she smiled. She thought she smiled, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't feel them, which meant she felt no pain. No pain, no muscle-crippling spasms to hinder her ability to walk.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

Her cycle was a minor irritation that she was glad she didn't have to experience. It had come at the wrong time and worked against her, but now the threat of nature was defeated. Her female problem couldn't touch her and she was glad. Her five days of feminine torture would not slay her, there would be no pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

She thought about the hunter knowing his burden would be made lighter. She would not be beside him. He would be able to run like the wind and hunt the black serpents, something he was compelled to do. He would forget and she would pass on. She smiled. She had surprised herself by doing the unthinkable, surviving the insane, for a time. She had fought against the black serpents and had won. Had killed five of them and used their bodies against them. Her demise would not be in vain. In valor, she had fought, killed and now it was her time to die, and there was no pain.

_So peaceful, so quiet_, she thought.

Taking her last breath and exhaling slowly, she thanked her God.

_Paya, give me time,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought wanting the sifting of the temple to pass the chamber for a while.

He wanted to finish his tasks before they had to move again and he knew the female needed rest. She had fought hard and he was proud of his hunt sister. She was _yeyinde,_ and she fought like a yautja, something so odd, given what he knew about the weak and pathetic creatures.

Maybe these oomans weren't as weak and pathetic as history had made them or maybe they had evolved over the centuries transforming them into something else. Perhaps evolution had not changed them so drastically, but more or less time has allowed them to develop into more than the host, the chosen sacrifice, that had served them in past centuries. His hunting with the female made him re-examine his opinion about ooman, or at least this ooman. She had demonstrated that her kind was definitely a worthy opponent, maybe not as challenging as kiande amedha, but certainly worthy of combat.

When he had first encountered the ooman he deemed her _**tarei hsan,**_ and unworthy to die by his blades. Now, he respected her and he would gladly meet her in battle and fight her. Being proud to take her skull and giving it a prominent place among his trophies. He trilled in his chest as it rumbled, satisfied she had honored him. This would be a story he would be able to tell to others as they exchanged hunt stories and he'd be able to tell his pups how he met the strange female ooman that fought beside him like a yautja.

Looking over at the ooman, Jaque'Su Knau could see that she had not moved from the place where she had collapsed earlier.

_Strange,_ he thought. _The battle was over and still she doesn't stir_.

Lex looked a mess. Her head was bloody where the face hugger had clawed at her skull while the black mid shoulder-length hair was wildly matted over her head. The snow jacket she was wearing had been shredded on her right shoulder and arm and it was also bloodied, stained by dark red blotches but for the most part the sleeve of the jacket was still intact. Her hands were drenched in her blood from the wounds she had sustained. Her skin was turning a dull brown color and the sheen to her skin was losing its vigor. Slowly, her lips were darkening and her body was growing cold.

_She resting,_ the hunter thought as he began to put the new trophies in the mesh bag with the others that had been collected earlier. _It was her way, _Jaque'Su Knau continued to think as he collected the new weapons he had made for her.

She was able to take care of herself; she had demonstrated that earlier. He had offered her assistance and she had insulted him. She has strength and she will get up when it is time, this he knew. She had gotten up before and she would get up again.

"When she is down, she will get back up," he growled low in admiration as he praised her strength.

For such a small and pathetic looking creature she had shown great promise with her fighting prowess and her stamina. He was pleased he had allowed her to follow him on his terms. Having her fend for herself gave her the strength she needed to survive in battle.

Once he had collected all the trophies and gathered all the female's new weapons, the hunter was ready to rouse the ooman.

"She has rested long enough," he said as he walked over to Lex.

As he walked over to the still unmoving form, Jaque'Su Knau got a sick, sinking feeling looking at the female with his thermal vision. Her heat signature registered predominately a cooling blue with faint small patches of red and orange sprinkled through the blue.

"_**Dhi'ki-de**_**,"** he growled as he dropped the mesh bags with the skulls in them and tossed the hardmeat weapons to the side. He growled dangerously behind his mask. His hearts began to pound in his chest as he knelt beside the tiny still form.

"Oh no," he groaned in pain as a deep growl resonated in his chest.

He felt a pain, an ache of great loss.

_She's dying;_ he thought as he reached for the dark female and drew her body close to his. Her arms and her head dangled lifelessly from her torso.

Cupping the back of her small head with his large hand, he continued to hold her close. Her dull dark skin felt cool under his large thumb as he brushed her black hair away from her face. She looked as if she was dead or so near _**Cetanu **_that he could reach out and touch her and take her with him into death.

He couldn't believe she was dying, she was strong, she had stamina; she was yautja-like. This couldn't be happening to his _mei'jadhi, _shouldn't be happening to his hunt sister. They were supposed to hunt the chiva together and when they had finished, he would give her his clan's mark so all would see that she had been blooded in chiva.

"Mooooo," he roared, "… you will not have her," he snarled at Death.

_This is all wrong, _he thought.

She should not be dying, he should not caring; but he does and it's hurting him. It's hurting like a piece of himself is dying also. She had fought beside him, protected him, had saved him when he should be dead. She fought like yautja, fought with determination, strength, power and rage; and she had prevailed over the kiande amedha. She had the spirit of a yautja; but not the blood.

_Blood,_ he thought.

She didn't have yautja blood running through her veins. If she had the blood of yautja, she would survive.

"She has to survive," he growled to himself determined. He would make her survive and she would continue to hunt by his side.

He had to work fast since her heat signature was deteriorating. Scanning her with his helm he could see that the facehugger had not planted a z_'skvy-de_ inside her, which made him trill with satisfaction. He would hate to have to kill her because an abomination was successfully deposited inside her.

Carefully he draped her across his massive thigh as he removed his helm and pulled back the right side his cloaking device to expose his leathery pale hide of his well-developed under belly. Wiping the surface of his skin, he took a taloned finger and he gouged into his flesh drawing blood.

"Paya, let her live," he prayed as he felt his lifeblood slowly seep from him.

He touched the florescent green fluid and it streamed over this fingers. He would give his life to save her life.

Gathering Lex in his left arm, Jaque'Su Knau touched a bloodied finger to her small mouth, she did not respond. Repeating the act, he let out a low frustrated growl.

"Taste and drink," he said as he repeated the act a third time, only this time he pressed the pad of his finger in her mouth making sure the green liquid was inside her. He felt a slight movement against his flesh.

"Yes," he breathed, glad the female had responded to him.

He repeated the act several more times until he saw her dark lips move weakly.

"Paya, be praised," he said softly and he began to purr to her as he lifted her and pressed her mouth against his bleeding flesh.

He felt her tongue move against his chest and his purr increased.

_She's drinking_; he thought and trilled in approval. _She will live._

He lowered his face onto her head and gently stroked her black hair with his tusks.

_I will not lose you; you will run by my side, _he thought as he held the semi-conscious female.

Deeply he inhaled her scent. He wanted to remember her and leave her impression on his mind. Tenderly he stroked her back and her hair as she drank from him.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

The pain came back to her all at once and Lex groaned as if she had been run over by a bus repeatedly. She hurt all over. Her head, her side, her legs, her abdomen. They all hurt and they made her wish she was dead.

Much to her surprise she heard the familiar purring and knew the alien was near. She felt cold, but also felt warmth around her in the darkness. Her lips felt wet, like something odd was dripping from her mouth. She pushed against the warmth and the purring faltered. The warmth felt like skin, leathery skin, smooth, but strong. Pushing again against the warm surface, she felt her lips pull away from the warm leathery surface, they were dry licking her lips for moisture. Lex groaned at the pain her efforts granted her. She put her tongue on the moist was surface hoping it would aid her in her efforts to lubricate her parched lips.

Trying to push away from the warmth a third time she felt a little more freedom of movement, but it came with price, pain. Squinting at the pain, she made herself continue; she had to get up, they had to keep moving.

"Oooo…" she gasped softly.

Her head felt as if it had been a giant pincushion and all the pins had been roughly removed. The last thing she remembered was the pus-colored crab-like alien on the back of her head.

_I'm not dead,_ she came a thought as if she suddenly realized her existence. She had been so close, but death had not claimed her.

Once she succeeded in pushing away from the warm surface she forced her eyes open and tilted her head up. In his honey colored eyes, Lex stared for what she thought was the longest moment as they quietly stared back at her. They had a look of relief about them. The hunter seemed to be glad to see her. He was holding her in his arms and she felt so small and helpless. She didn't want to feel helpless. He had no time for the weak, which meant he would leave her behind. She didn't want to be left behind; she wanted to leave the madness of the pyramid.

_I've got to stand on my own feet,_ she thought as she tried to push away from the hunter, but he gently, yet firmly held her.

The volume of his purring grew slightly and she stopped with her efforts of leaving, then the purring returned to a lower volume. He nodded slightly at her and she understood it was okay; he would not leave her.

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**GIVE a shout out to the Characters with your review.**

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Vocabulary/translation**

(Have fun with these words and translations… I did… feel free to use them)

**(Words…)**

**atai'k-dte**! fight!

**bakuub** straight spear

**Cetanu **yautja god of death

**hulij-bpe **crazy

**hult'ah **rear guard or look out, sentry, observer

**ki its-pa **spear

**mei'jadhi **hunt sister

**mo **no

**naginata **retractable spear

**pauking** fucking

**shuriken **a type of yautja throwing star

**softmeat **another word for human

**te'dqi **xenomorph secretion

**thei-de **death/dead/die

**u'sl-kwe **the final rest of death

_**ů**__**•**__**o**__**š**__**r**_ small, little, tiny

**yeyinde **brave one

_**z'skvy-de**_ birth of xenomorph from host, eruptive phase

**(Phrases…)**

"_**Dtai'k-dte sa-de nav'g-kon dtain'aun bpide**_**" **"The fight begun would not end until the end"

"_**Nain-desintje-da" **_The Pure Win (Absolute Victory)

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Please review this chapter. I would love to get your feedback.**

**I look forward to hearing from you!**

_**From The Author**_


	4. Rejuvenated

**Unforgettable**

**Nubian Dragon © 5/2010 (12/2012 ****revised)**

**-o-o-o-o-Chapter 4 -o-o-o-o-**

**Rejuvenated**

Life, not death touched her.

She felt the gentle caress of the living and wondered why she was still on that side of time.

Everything that had happened said that she should be dead. Death whispered sweetly and softly the ode that would lull on closer to its door. As of yet she hadn't reached Death, it stared at her from across the chasm.

It was calling her near, so tenderly, so lovingly, the sound was sweet. Such sweet music to her ears; Death's loving call; she had decided to surrender to Death.

It was difficult. She didn't want to fight any more for something that was hard to hold on to, life. Death said dying was sweeter and it would come easier than living. To live was a struggle, but to die was bliss.

She was weak and tired. It was easy to give up and let death consume her, let Death take her where it willed. Death was closer than life and easier to achieve. She had worked hard at staying alive, but dying was so easy and very close, just a breath away.

She loved life and wanted to live; had done everything that she knew in order to survive, but death was stronger. Death's grip was sure and its hold was tight. She understood she didn't have the strength, although she had the will to fight Death. She could see that _she_ could not conquer Death so she decided to accept its invitation to go and be with it.

She was ready to surrender to Death but someone else had said, "_**No**_". In the void she heard it. Clear and final, the gruff male voice had spoken. It was the hunter. The hunter had said, _**no**_. She could hear the single word resound in the void where she waited, the place where she was trapped. She felt a pull of defiance and knew most assuredly it was the hunter. Death also knew it was the hunter reaching out to her, calling her back to life.

From the other side of the chasm Death beckoned her; called to her, spoke seductively to her promising that she would have peace. Trying to reach her before the hunter did.

God knew she wanted to have peace. She wanted peace and bliss. Her mind, body and soul needed peace. Just some time to rest, even if that rest was forever.

A powerful and demanding _No_ echoed in the void again. Again the hunter shouted to her and she turned her head to see him. He was adamant and strong. Metal faced and determined. He stared at her demanding that she go with _him_. She felt his strength, she felt his power, they were commanding, demanding that she cling to life. He was defying Death, fighting against Death where she could not. He was her strength, her guide. He shouted in the void and she heard, Death also heard, the hunter had spoken, "_No_" and hissed at the hunter's intrusion.

_Go with him,_ she thought. Why would he want her? She was nothing more than a burden. A weight that would slow him down, a hindrance in his hunt. Now she was useless; unable to stand on her own feet in the world of the living. She was too weak to fight even if it meant preserving her own life. She was worthless and pathetic, but he called to her. He shouted that she hold on to the sliver of existence; the hope of being. Have faith that she could live, chose life over death.

To chose….

Death?

Life?

Peace and sleep?

Pain and struggle?

Death?

The hunter?

They all converged on her at once, choice and opportunity. He was closer now. He was standing in front of her. He was there waiting for her choose. She turned to look at Death waiting on the other side of the chasm and thought of all the possibilities. She thought about peace. Death whispered to her the things she wanted to hear. She listened; they were lovely things, beautiful things. Oh how she loved the beauty in Death's words.

She could feel the hunter's presence behind her. He was very close. She could feel his heat radiating from him, it was comforting. Turning back to the hunter, she saw him, felt him. He said nothing, just looked down at her with the metal masked face. He was a giant. Even in the void he was larger than life. He just waited; said nothing, just waited. In his silence, he spoke to her; he _needed_ her.

_He needs me,_ she thought. Funny he should need her, she was inconsequential, a burden of sorts, but he needed her. In life she needed him; needed him to help her survive.

_He needs me,_ she thought again, _and I need him_. In life she needed him, in life he needed her.

He reached out his large taloned hand to her. She looked at the thing; never had she seen a hand that big, it looked as if it could cover her entire face. She knew she should be afraid of the hunter, but she wasn't. He gave her comfort and brought her hope. The large hand waited patiently for her to respond and she did. She reached out to him. Her hand was so small in his, so petite so insignificant.

Behind her she heard Death hiss. It hissed venom and curses against her. It cursed her soul and vowed that he would claim her one day. She knew that death would claim her one day. She would go with Death and step across the chasm and stay forever. She would do it one day, but today Death would not claim her, the hunter had. He gripped her small hand into his larger one and she felt him; knew he was there and that he would never leave her. She vowed that she would never leave him; only death would separate them.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

_**Quiet.**_

_**Blackness.**_

_**The void.**_

_**Nothingness.**_

_**Waiting in silence for what will be, to come into being.**_

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

As if traveling the speed of light, she felt movement in the void. Time passed, images blurred, movement commenced. What was real seemed illusion, what was illusion felt real. There was no clarity, only shifting. There was shifting and changing, a moving back to life, back to reality.

The past was a mist to be remembered, the void had lost its hold and she was slipping. Old things were made new, and new things were not to be forgotten. In time, she was moving from one place to another. Lex remembered the hunter and how he had saved her. She remembered Death and how it had seduced her. Death had seduced her but wasn't strong enough to claim her. The hunter had claimed her. He had rescued her and brought her back to his side of time. The side of living she had almost left forever.

_Must hold my own_, she thought somewhere in her mind. _I have to get up, got to stand_.

Her mind was sluggish and her body was racked with pain, but she knew that she had to stand on her own two feet or death would be her portion. The hunter had saved her from Death once, but she didn't want to slip back into its clutches. In order to save herself she had to take charge of herself, but she was so tired, so weak she wasn't sure. Wasn't sure if she was able to do what was needed to be done, stand on her own. She remembered the hunter had no time for the feeble. At the moment, she was feeble.

Unrelenting pain came back to her all at once as she slipped aimlessly out of the void. Lex groaned as if she had been run over by a bus repeatedly. She hurt all over. Her head, her side, her legs, her abdomen; they all hurt and they made her wish she was dead. The pain made her feel like she should have taken up Death's repeated offers of peace and bliss. She'd give almost anything for the pain to go away; _almost_ anything.

Growing distant in the void had made her feel the change in her surroundings. There was audible sound, palpable touch and pungent smell as she emerged fully from the void. Much to her surprise she heard the familiar purring and knew the hunter was near. There was a feeling of coolness, but also a feeling of warmth around her in the darkness outside of the void.

He was touching her, holding her. Her face was pressed against his warmth; it was supple and strong, while full of life. Trying to move her head was a mistake, she realized as it throbbed without mercy.

_Oooohhh,_ her thoughts cried out at the sudden pain and she tried to move something less demanding, her lips.

They struggled at first like they were rubber that has melted into another rubbery surface. Her flesh clung to the rubbery surface. She moved her tongue in her mouth to get moisture, but little came. The muscle that was her tongue felt heavy and swollen, like it would inflate to fill her entire mouth. Again she searched for moisture and was rewarded with a little. A third time she moved her tongue and then she felt the moisture.

_Wetness._

Her lips felt wet, like something odd was dripping from her mouth. The feeling and taste was foreign to her. It reminded her of something bitter. The bitterness was alien taste in her mouth. Strange it was, but also familiar. It reminded her of unsweetened _kool-aid_ straight from the foil package. She grimaced at the thought. She hadn't eaten unsweetened kool-aid from a foil package since she was a kid. But now she was tasting it. It was warm, very warm and it continued to trickle slowly into her mouth. She drank the bitter warmth and it quickened her. She felt stimulation in the cells of her body, a reawakening.

Pushing against the warmth again, made the purring she thought she heard falter. The warmth felt like skin against her face, leathery skin; smooth, but strong. Pushing again against the warm surface, she felt her lips pull away. It hurt as a pinched sensation pulsed from the place where her lips separated from the warm leathery surface. The warm bitter taste clung to her lips and mouth and followed her as she pulled away from the leathery surface. Lex groaned at the pain her efforts gave her. She put her weighty and bloated tongue on the moist was surface hoping it would aid her in her efforts to lubricate her parched lips and possibly wet it enough to take the bloated feeling away.

Efforts to push away from the leathery surface were hampered, she was being restrained. The hunter was holding her; holding her protectively. Lex could hear his soothing purrs as her ear pressed against his broad muscled chest. They comforted her, but she wanted to show she could stand on her own even though the comfort was appreciated.

_I've got to stand on my own feet,_ Lex thought to herself as she tried to push away from the hunter a third time.

She was weak, like a newborn kitten and like a newborn kitten, she could do nothing. She couldn't push the hunter away to establish her independence. She needed to show him that she could take care of herself. She had to show him that she wasn't useless. She wanted to tell him she could do it by herself, but her dry throat would only let her croak feebly.

There was no room for resistance and no opportunity to free herself from the hunter's hold. As she moved about, the volume of his purring grew slightly, sounding agitated. He was signaling to her. He wanted her to relax. She stopped with her efforts of leaving, and then the purring returned to a lower volume. Feeling him nodded slightly, she understood it was okay. He would not abandon her. She breathed in as deep as her pained body would allow her and she exhaled as her body went limp with relaxation.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

A gentle touch came to her and she shuddered lightly. At least she thought she shuddered. Maybe it was in her head. Another light stroke and then another. She heard it deep at first, and then it slowly came to the surface, purring. A familiar soothing comforting sound she didn't think she would hear again. She thanked God for the purring, she was alive. The purring continued and the hunter caressed her hair relaxingly. She enjoyed the calming sound and she felt safe as he smoothly stroked her hair.

_Safe, _she thought as she pressed her body closer to his. She enjoyed what he was doing, comforting her.

Suddenly the purring stopped, and then she nuzzled herself closer to the warm safe alien flesh. She didn't care if he thought she was weak and fragile, she _was_ weak and fragile. If she didn't live to get out of the pyramid, then she would take that moment to enjoy being held and feeling protected. With gratitude, she would take the feeling to her grave. Closer she pressed into the hunter and she felt his large hand tenderly press her head to his chest. She felt safe in the hunter's arms and she wanted to stay in his arms as long as he would let her.

Time passed and the purring died down. Lex wasn't sure how long she had been in the hunter's arms, but she knew she didn't want to leave them. She wanted to say a _forever_ in the arms they held her close and protected her. If she didn't leave the temple all she wanted to do was stay in his arms, but she knew that she couldn't. He would move on and continue with his hunt.

Slowly he stroked her hair, and then he gently pushed her away from him. At first she resisted being separated from him, but then she relaxed. She wasn't sure, but she didn't think that he would abandon her.

She trusted him. Trusted him with her life.

Once their bodies were separated, the hunter reached to his helm and he released the hoses at the side of his head. Loudly the escaping gases hissed as the sound filled the room shattering the quiet. Lex blinked at the sound, but did not flinch away from the hunter. Using both hands, the hunter carefully removed his helm from his massive head and placed it to his side.

Lex looked up into the hunter's face as he flexed his mandibles wide. His large mouth reminded her of a fiddler crab, the kind she would see burrowing on the shores of beaches as they scuttled across the sand as the waves lap at the shore. She saw the inside of his wicked looking mouth. His opened mouth reminded her of a snake, a snake with deadly fangs. They were fangs that were sharp pointed and deadly and could possibly pierce through metal as easily as they could tear into flesh. The upper row of teeth were like snake fangs while the lower row reminded her of shark teeth, pointed and treacherous. She caught her breath. It was a intimidating sight, but she didn't shrink away from the hunter.

She trusted him.

She didn't think he would hurt her once he had gone through the trouble of saving her. He needed her or at least she thought that he needed her. In the void she knew that he needed her and she needed him. She would trust him because she vowed that she would never leave him.

His eyes were close set, but knowing. They were searching her, looking for something. Looking in her eyes, looking and asking. She wasn't sure what it could be, but she was sure he was looking. His golden eyes regarded her as he slowly tilted his head to the side. She watched unafraid and waited for him to respond.

She heard a low rumble in his chest as he spoke something in his alien language. The alien words were layered with a series of clicks and soft trills. Lex didn't know what the hunter was saying, but she resigned herself to trust him and let him do whatever he was going to do to her. She already owed him her life and she trusted him to protect her.

_He won't hurt me,_ she thought as she continued to stare into his golden eyes.

His eyes were expressive with a human quality about them. In her mind she didn't see a mindless feral killing, hunting machine, she saw kindness and compassion. This was a side of the hunter that spoke to his urbane integrity. His eyes, they said _trust me_, and she listened. She looked and his soul filled her.

She heard him say something else in his alien tongue and then his large hand went to her small slim brown neck. His hand was warm against her flesh. Lightly he pushed her hair to the side and exposed her bare flesh. His hand was strong and she felt the strength that he had to snap her neck with ease.

She trusted him.

Slowly he moved his thumb across the side of her neck as he held her in his hand. She felt his talon trace the length of her jugular. She gasped and gave a slight quiver and he stopped. She closed her eyes.

She trusted him.

She heard him purr and then she relaxed and opened her eyes. He was staring at her. His black locks draped over them both as he leaned over her and curtained them from the outside world. Only the hunter and she existed. Common sense told her she should be unnerved, she wasn't, she trusted him. She heard him as she continued to purr to her and his taloned thumb resumed its tracing of her jugular. Lex could feel her large vein responding to his touch. It pulsed. She felt it as it swelled and the blood began to race through it. The blood began to rush through her body and her heart began to beat faster.

He growled low, said something in his language and clicked to her.

She felt her breathing speed up and her chest began to rise and fall faster.

She trusted him.

He growled low again and he lowered his massive head toward her neck and she presented her flesh to him. Panic gripped her, but she had to show the hunter that she was with him. As best as she could she calmed herself. She didn't know why he wanted to do it, for her there was no choice. He was going to bite her. It was probably another eccentric alien ritual his kind performed while they hunted and since she was now hunting unofficially with she would have to participate in this ritual.

She trusted him.

She felt his hot breath on her skin. It was much warmer than human breath. She had felt the breath of past lovers on her skin, but none were as warm as the hunter's breath.

_Relax, relax,_ she thought soothingly to herself. _He's not going to kill you; if he did he would have done it already._

Trying to stay calm, she forced her eyes to stay open when she wanted to squeeze them shut and hold her breathe until he was finished with her. She was brave. Lex had to show him that she wasn't afraid. She couldn't afford to be afraid. His breath was warm and humid. It reminded her of past lovers. It was a strange thought to come into her head, but she let it stay. The thought would take away the sting and creepiness out of what the alien was doing to her.

Watching as his mandibles spread wide and each of his four tusks moved independently, she continued to tell herself it was okay and he would not hurt her. Hearing her own breathing she realized that she was losing the calm she was trying to establish to get through the ritual. The large ivory-looking tusks frightened her and made her think he could bite her small slender neck in half.

_He's not going to kill me, he's not going to kill me_, she thought as a mantra in her mind.

Desperately, she needed to reassure herself that the lethal looking teeth would not betray her trust in the hunter. All of a sudden the ivory tusks touched her hair. They were surprisingly gentle. She felt the alien appendages weave through her hair and touch her scalp. Soothingly the alien feelers repeatedly grazed her scalp and she involuntarily sighed in approval. It felt good like a much needed massage. Hearing the hunter's purr change just a fraction, she could sense that he was pleased with her response to him. Next the large tusks touched her neck. The hunter's tusk felt strange moving on her skin, but she wasn't as repulsed as she thought she would be. The larger lower tusks encircled her entire neck and again she realized her vulnerability. The next thing she felt was the smaller upper tusks caressed her jugular. She let out a soft gasp. She wasn't sure if it was from fear, stimulation or shock, but it had come out, even the hunter noticed her response to the appendages touching her.

She didn't struggle against his touch, she trusted him.

Feeling him open his mouth, Lex could feel the warmth and humidity against her skin increased. It made her shiver, but she wasn't cold. His hot breath lingered on her brown flesh and she felt his moisture drip onto her neck. She felt something flat and forked slither out and trail up and down her jugular. It was probing her, getting acquainted with the large vessel in her neck. The weirdness of the new alien appendage made her want to shudder and shrink away, but she didn't.

She refused to tremble, she trusted him.

_His tongue,_ she thought.

Telling herself that the thing was a part of the hunter and would not hurt her the way the inner mouth of the black serpents was used for killing, helped to calm her. She needed to be calm and have a focal point. It was just a tongue.

_A tongue,_ she thought again.

It felt like the tongue of a snake, flexible and long. It glided gently, sensually across her skin. In unison, she felt the tusks of his four mandibles latch gently onto her face. They weren't forcing her, just holding her, touching her.

_He's not going to hurt me, he's not going to hurt me_, she thought reminding herself again that there was no reason to mistrust the hunter.

For a moment the tusks held her face then she was released. His mouth went back to her neck where he returned his attention.

In his deep rumbling and clicking he said something in his language she didn't understand.

Without warning the fangs of his mouth pierced her jugular.

_Son-of-a-bitch!_ She swore in her head.

What she wanted to do was scream but her words were choked off because of the sudden pain caught her off guard and all she could do was try to breath.

Feeling paralyzed, like a deer caught in the head lights of an oncoming car, she panicked. The once calm breathing she had been doing was gone. Now her breaths came to her short and hard. It was like she couldn't take in enough air to meet her body's demand.

Her neck felt like it was on fire and her blood felt as if it wanted to boil. She could feel the temperature of her skin elevate and perspiration was beginning to run down her forehead and across her neck.

She wanted to scream out from the penetration, but she didn't, she trusted him.

She needed to trust him so whatever he was doing to her would not end badly. The hunter clamped down on her soft skin with his fangs and she felt the row of smaller upper teeth press against her neck, but not break her skin. Involuntarily her body began to shudder; she tried, but she couldn't control herself. His fangs sunk deeper into her willing flesh. She felt him press his lipless mouth closer into her neck. With each beat of her heart, with each pulse of her blood flowing through her veins she felt the liquid life surge from the bites the hunter made on her neck. She felt her head go light as her eyes fluttered and began to roll back in her head. For a moment the world was dark and all she could hear was her blood rushing through her veins. A strange but familiar sound brought her from the darkness. It was the hunter, he was talking to her. Hearing a low growl mixed in the deep purring. She felt the hunter's arm hold her tighter as he pressed her closer to his chest.

Purring began to fill her head and slowly she began to calm. She could feel her body ceasing its shuddering and her breaths came to her more slower and natural.

_Oh god_, she thought, _he almost killed me_.

She wasn't sure if the hunter was indeed trying to kill her, but she knew that he for that moment had total control over her and her life, and she could do nothing. She was completely at his mercy.

_I trust him_, she thought to herself as her mind began to clear.

Oh how she trusted him. The light send she had made the right decision. Had she not, she would have a hole torn in her throat from her trying like hell to get away from him when she felt his fangs first pierce her skin. There was no hole and she was safe.

Taking a deep breath, she felt her throat move under the pressure of his alien mouth. The pressure was not as intense as it was when he initially bit her, but she could still feel his teeth on her skin. The snake-like tongue was all over her neck. The forked flexible appendage seemed to be everywhere at once.

_He's sucking my blood_, she thought and had a disturbing thought of a vampire.

She felt him drink her. She heard him purr to her as she lay still in his arms.

_Oh god, not a vampire, _she thought, and she cursed herself for a fool for being so willing.

She was willing and he was very much in control. She was at his mercy and she allowed herself to be caught in that situation.

_You stupid ass!_ Her mind shouted, _vampires don't exist and he can't turn you into what he is_.

This was not the time to have a mental meltdown. Things were real, what was happening was real, vampires were not real. She was logical and rational and she allowed herself to believe that the hunter was not a vampire, but indeed an alien from another planet. She would not let her mind give way to insanity.

It was time for a reality check.

Thinking about all the things she had done in her twenty-six years of life, never had she done anything as reckless as she was doing now with the alien. Right now, it was about survival and she wanted and needed to survive.

_If it will save my life, then it will be done,_ she thought.

Ignorant to what was happening and what it meant to the hunter, Lex surmised that what he was doing wasn't killing her. For that reason she let him have his way with her knowing the only way she was going to survive what was happening in the pyramid was to stay with the hunter and she didn't want to give him any reason to think that she was not with him. Right now the only thing that mattered to Lex was her survival. If she could get through the macabre nightmare of what was happening in the pyramid, then she was sure she would heal from wherever the hunter was doing to her. It was all about survival. For now, she would survive and later she would put her life back together.

Grateful for the distraction, the purring continued and it relaxed her. Relaxed her mind and body as her drank from her jugular. She allowed him to drink her, because she trusted him, and she needed him.

As he drank and her entire body began to tingle with delight.

_This should be wrong;_ she thought to herself, she shouldn't be feeling good because the alien had power over her. _Sebastian never said anything like this was in a hunting ritual,_ she thought. Then she reasoned the hunter wasn't human which meant this could very well be a part of _their_ hunting ritual.

As the hunter drank from her it felt like her lover was bringing her to climax. It was a sick thing to be thinking, but that's what it felt like. Her breathing increased and she could feel heavy perspiration flowing from her pores. Her clothes in her snowsuit were drenched. Lex's mind and body were caught in a strange ecstasy she didn't know if she wanted to leave. Again, she focused on him purring to her. The purring soothed her, made her calm and responsive. She felt like she wanted to give all of her to the hunter.

_God help me,_ she pleaded inside, she thought she was losing her mind. She wasn't sure if she was still in the first state of dying.

The rhythmic reassuring purring increased and the hunter continued his sensual drinking. He made no motion to indicate that he would finish soon, and Lex began to get nervous.

_What if he drinks all my blood and does end up killing me?_ She thought not liking the possibility of actually dying at the hands of the hunter.

She felt like a fly in a spider's web, trapped and helpless to get out. The arousing tingling sensation from the hunter continued and she felt like she was caught in a lover's web. She could not move or leave, all she could do was feel and take pleasure in what was being done to her.

_He's not my lover_, she thought knowing that if he didn't get off her neck soon, there'd be nothing left of her to save from the black serpents.

The alien mouth pressed harder into her neck and she felt the hot snake tongue rover over her flesh that was now beginning to ache. She felt like she was going to pass out.

_The party is over and you have to get your big ass off me, _she thought knowing it was now or never, and she didn't want the _never_.

Her body was weak, but she had to use all her strength to make the attempt successful. Putting her small hands on his large chest and tried to push him away with all her might, but he held her. Next, she took her nails and began to claw at him through the webbing that did little to protect his skin. At first there was no response, then she pushed harder and dug deeper into his tough skin. She felt moisture on her fingers and knew she broke his skin, but he acted as she was doing nothing to him. She wanted to scream at him to let her go, but she couldn't his mouth was on her windpipe and she didn't want chancing for any freak accidents to occur.

Listening for a sign, after what she thought was too long, she heard his purring slow down and she felt his forked tongue glide slowly over the two punctures he had made in her jugular. The feeling of the alien's tongue slithering over her flesh didn't feel as forceful as it had earlier. It felt attentive, like it was working to restore order. There was a release of thick mucus on her skin and she felt as it seeped into the first puncture on her neck. The mucus left a cooling sensation at the site of the first puncture wound and the hunter's tongue glided over the area and pressed hard against her skin. Once finished with the first puncture, Lex felt the forked tongue slide over to the second puncture wound and do the same thing. Making sure to give each wound proper attention, the hunter let his tongue linger on Lex's neck a little longer than was necessary. Once he was finished repairing her neck, Lex's breathing slowed down and she waited for him to release her.

The forked tongue moved sensually over Lex's jugular and the rest of her neck. She could feel the hunter's hot moisture all over her skin. Without warning, all four mandibles gently released her and she felt his taloned thumb stroke her hair and her neck. The hunter was looking at his handiwork and growled deep pleased with himself.

Finally, he pulled away from her but still held her by her neck. Trying not to cringe, but lightly gasping when she saw her red blood on the edges of his lipless mouth and she watched as the flat forked tongue slithered out from its hot cave and licked her blood from the outer rim of his mouth. The scene made her feel queasy, but she didn't struggle or turn away, she trusted him.

The labored breathing began again when she was released, but she quickly began to get it under control as her chest rose and fell heavy under her snow suit.

_I'm finally free_, she thought but he still held her.

She wasn't going anywhere until he was ready to let her go, but she was relieved that he was off her neck. He ran his thumb over the two puncture wounds. Involuntarily she gasped again. The wounds felt like someone had stabbed her with two ice picks and left both of them in her neck.

"Motherfuck!" she gasped as she fought the pain and the urge to scream in his face.

She didn't want to show any sign of weakness, but it hurt like hell when he touched her.

Regarding her, he looked in her eyes as if he was looking for something and Lex looked back in his golden honey-colored eyes. Now, his eyes looked different. They looked… looked like they were hungry and possessive. The hunter looked deep into her eyes; they were trying to talk to her. She didn't understand, all she could do was stare back at him and wait for him to release her completely.

He growled soft and low at her and he purred at her as she continued to look into her eyes. Absently his large thumb glided back and forth the length of her neck and she swallowed hard.

_Shit, not that again_, she thought to herself and she turned away from the hunter's thumb.

Letting out a low growl, she felt his grip tighten on her neck. She didn't want to panic and get hurt, so she waited to see what he would do. The controlled grip to her slender neck relaxed and she swallowed again. By the sound of his purring, Lex sensed that the hunter was also relaxed. She took a chance and pushed his thumb away with her hand. If he was going to get upset because she didn't want him pushing on her neck, then let him. Her neck had been assaulted by him and it was time for him to stop being rough with her. There were black serpents to be killed and him biting her in the neck would not kill the black aliens.

Continuing to trust him, she believed that he would do no more to her that she was capable of enduring. He seemed to know what her limitations were.

For a moment longer he looked at her, then he carefully, he released her neck. He adjusted her to the sitting position in his lap with very little effort like she was a small child. Lex was relieved that she would finally be standing up on her own two feet. Hope was dashed, there was a flash of doubt, but she was sure she could stand on her. It would happen and she would make herself do it.

Reaching to his hair, Lex watched the hunter as he pulled what looked like a transparent golden crystal ring from one of his long tendril of thick rubbery looking hair. The color of the ring reminded her of his golden honey colored eyes. Holding the crystal ring in front of her and rotating it as if displaying it, the hunter growled something to her in his language and reached for her small hand. She didn't know what he said, but she listened and she let him take her by the hand. A perplexed look came to his face as his mandibles began to twitch as if contemplating. If she had to describe him at the moment she would say he was a little confused. Looking at her hand as if trying to decide, the hunter finally isolated her thumb from the rest of her fingers and then he placed the transparent golden crystal ring on it. The crystal ring was large, even for her thumb, so he pushed the ring up on her thumb until it fit snuggly.

Lex looked at the ring he had placed on her thumb. She didn't know what it all meant, but the crystal ring was so beautiful. She had never seen anything like it in her life. Turning thumb and her hand, she admired her new gift. She wanted to say thank you but didn't, she kept her gratitude to herself.

Unexpectedly the hunter growled getting Lex's attention and she looked up at him. He pulled another of his long black tendril of hair across his massive chest and showed her the twin to the transparent crystal ring she had on her finger. It was beautiful and identical. The ring that he wore in his hair looked tiny compared to the ring that she wore on her thumb; the ring she wore dwarfed her hand. They looked very different in size, but in fact they were the same. Upon looking closer at the rings she thought there was wave-like movement in the rings as she turned her hand from side to side.

Carefully, she touched his hair that had the transparent ring on it. The hunter's alien hair felt strange. It looked rubbery, but it didn't feel like rubber. It felt like supple coarse horse hair, probably hundreds or thousands of tiny coarse strands that were bound into a large strand so it looked and behaved as one strand of hair. Curiously Lex stroked the giant strand of alien hair contemplating its texture while still admiring the beautiful and unique twin rings. The hair was interesting and unusual while the ring she wore on her thumb was stunning.

_Magnificent,_ she thought referring to both the ring and the hunter's hair.

Without warning the hunter hissed low at her and she pulled her hand away from his hair.

_That's strange,_ she thought.

She hadn't hurt him. At least she didn't think her rubbing his hair hurt him, she was trying to be gentle with him. She didn't want to look at him in case he was upset with her for taking liberties where none were offered.

_But he had showed the ring to me,_ she thought defensively… the mention of the ring came a second thought, _not his hair._

For a moment Lex could sense that her touching his hair without permission was forgiven. She was glad, she didn't want him to think that she was impetuous. In silence, the hunter allowed her a moment to admire both rings, and then he growled and clicked something to her. She looked at him intently and he stared back at her. Without wasting a moment, he reached to the side and retrieved his helm.

Lex shifted in his ample lap and watched as he returned his metal to his massive head and covered his face re-attaching the breathing hoses to his helm.

The hunter shifted and removed Lex from his lap. The woman gasped as the pair of large hands lifted her from her secure perch forcing her to stand. Now that she was actually doing it, she thought she would collapse to the floor on shaky legs, but she didn't. She was surprised that she was able to stand on her own two feet and her legs support her.

It was strange, but it felt refreshing and rejuvenating to be able to support her weight. It was like she had just awakened from a hellish sleep and was ready to take on the entire world. Enough vigor and enthusiasm were now inside her and she was ready for another round with the black serpents. She was surprised that she wasn't as lethargic as she thought she would be.

_It must have been that green stuff,_ she thought to herself now that she remembered.

All of her was like shit. There was no hope and she was hurting from top to bottom. Her energy was gone and so was her will to live. She was ready to die until the hunter made her drink his… _blood_ … she thought. She had drunk his blood. The green stuff had to have been his blood. She saw it ooze from cuts and lacerations on his body during and after he fought with the black serpents. She drank his alien blood. There was no denying it; she was just as guilty as he was. She wanted to refute it, but she couldn't, they had drunk each other's blood.

Although it disgusted her, she didn't have time to dwell on the unnerving alien hunt ritual. Fortunate for her the arcane ritual had saved her life and had not only allowed for her to regain her strength, but regain her energy and her will to get out of the pyramid. The alien's blood would keep her going until she and the hunter found their way out of the nightmarish hellhole. Now, she felt like she could face the black serpents again and it was all because she trusted him.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

In his arms he held her; he had cursed and defied _**Cetanu.**_ Refused to let Death take the ooman. She fought and she had fought well. For her, the hunt was beginning and he would not stand by and let it end so soon, the ooman had potential and a will he had not see as of yet, even among his own kind. She had become his _**mei-jadhi**_**, **his hunt sister and he would not let her die. He would not let her die until he marked her as a hunter; given her the mark of his clan and even when he gave her the mark of his clan he wanted her to live.

Jaque'Su Knau felt his hunt sister stir as her face pressed against his chest.

"She has resisted Cetanu," the hunter said as he waited for the ooman to stir again.

The small creature he was holding stirred a second time and he silently thanked Paya for keeping the ooman in alive.

Softly he began to purr at her, wanting to soothe and comfort her. He wanted her return to consciousness to be as trauma free as possible. The last thing he needed was for her to panic. She panicking and injuring herself in the process was something neither of them needed. Jaque'Su Knau felt her small hands push against his chest and that's when he felt the contact between their fleshes. It felt odd that the alien outer cover at the opening of her mouth clung to his rough hide. It was like the soft flesh was trying to meld with his rougher skin. He didn't know what they were called, but he would surely remember how they felt against his skin. He had never felt softness like that before, not even among the females he had come in contact with.

For a brief moment his purring faltered. Feeling an odd sensation on his chest he wondered what the ooman had put on his chest and then he realized that the sensitivity was being caused by her tongue moving across his skin.

_So strange,_ he thought as he continued purring to her. _She is drinking me and soon she will be stronger. _

He continued to think as he rumbled in approval as he looked down at the ooman. Soon he would mark her and they would continue the hunt.

He thought about his hunt brothers and the last time he remembered seeing them was when they watched the ooman from his _**k'os-khuc**_ as they took their weapons form the sacred chamber and the temple started shifting. _**Faut'tla A'uza**_ and _**Ru'hnir–saunis Zh'flauka**_ had run in one direction and he had run in the other upon entering the temple. It had been wiser for the split; they were able to cover more of the temple that way. Jaque'Su Knau wondered if his hunt brothers had encountered the kiande amedha or if they had killed the oomans before the hardmeats had used them. From the number of kiande amedha he had killed thus far he realized that hardmeats must have taken a good amount of the ooman because of the number of _**kr'ulos'l**_ that were spawned. He realized that the hardmeats had also taken the male that was with his hunt sister because together they had fled from him and now she was alone.

_**Relk vhe'ln mwei'leimei'hswei'l,**_ _Hunt well my brothers_, he thought to himself and he brought back his attention to the female in his arms.

The ooman weakly pressed her small hands against Jaque'Su Knau's and tried to push herself from his embrace. His purring faltered again. He loosened his grip on his _**mei-jadhi**_, but held her securely. She was weak like a new born _**pup**_ and because of her weak fragile state he didn't want her to become any more damaged than she already was. Continuing to purr to her, Jaque'Su Knau waited to see what she would do. He heard the small ooman let out a feeble sound that indicated pain as her small body tensed as much as her strength would allow her. Sympathizing with his _**mei-jadhi**_'_**s**_ current situation, Jaque'Su Knau, continued with his soothing purring. He couldn't release her; he had to make sure she was safe, even if she didn't want him protecting her.

Feeling the ooman begin to relax in his arms, Jaque'Su Knau felt at strange but small soft of the ooman brush against his broad muscled chest. The small protrusion on the side of the female's head at first gently brushed the surface of his skin tickling the sensitive nerves across the surface of his skin that he wasn't aware of, then he felt her press her head closer to his torso. He liked how she felt against his skin and he held her closer.

Without realizing it, he had let out a low growl of pleasure. Jaque'Su Knau cut the growl of pleasure short once he realized what he was doing. He had heard of mates stimulating and pleasuring each other when they were on private hunts, but this… he had no cause to feel this way towards the ooman. The ooman was not yautja and he did not know her so logic would dictate he had no reason or right to growl at her in pleasure, only purr to her so she would be comforted.

_It is her musk,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought remembering the scent he had encountered earlier.

It was strange how he had forgotten about the scent while he was battling the kiande amedha and while he was trying to save her from _**Cetanu**_; now it had returned and it was speaking to him.

_Why now_, he thought naively. _Because she is out of danger, _came a thought …_ And you are male_ … yet a third thought answered_._

The hunter grumbled at the third thought. He could not be interested in his new hunt sister like that. All he wanted was to save her life and make sure they finished the hunt with their lives and their trophies intact. Besides, she was prey species and hunters did not mate with prey.

Jaque'Su Knau felt the ooman push against him a third time and he held her even closer. _She has to stay still and calm,_ the hunter thought as he continued to purr at the female. She continued to try and move and Jaque'Su Knau increased the volume of his purring slightly. He was a little annoyed and agitated with his_ mei-jadhi_. She was squirming and moving like an unruly _pup_ and she needed to stop. If she injured herself further he would not be happy. He wanted her able to stand on her own so she could continue to hunt with him.

Continuing to purr at her with the same volume, Jaque'Su Knau was indicating to the female that he wanted her to relax. A few moments passed and the small ooman stopped with her squirming, and Jaque'Su Knau returned the purring to a lower volume.

_Very good_, he thought as he nodded slightly to the female.

He hoped she understood it was okay to relax and he would not leave her. The large yautja heard the ooman breathed in deeply and slowly released the breath. As she exhaled he could feel her body going limp with relaxation.

"Relax…" Jaque'Su Knau purred once soothingly to his _mei-jadhi _and he gently touched her hair.

The fur that covered her head felt different and strange from anything he had ever felt before, but nice. Again he glided his large taloned hand across the soft wavy fur that stopped somewhere down the ooman's back but he wasn't going to find out where. He felt the female shuddered lightly, but she made no effort to hinder him and she didn't smell like she was afraid of him so he continued. Again he stroked her small head and he purred at her. Easily Jaque'Su Knau fell into the quieting rhythm of stroking the fur on the female's head and he felt her press her body into him. Time passed and the hunter continued with his caressing of the female's hair.

Without warning, a sudden pungent assault of the female's musk stifled Jaque'Su Knau's olfactory senses and he immediately ceased his purring.

_**V'hak -de cho't! **_He thought and he looked down at the female in his arms.

It needed to stop and now. She had to stop sending those lascivious signals to him. They were unwarranted and uncalled for. They were on chiva proving themselves worthy and collecting trophies. Now was not the time or the place. Never would be the time and place.

_Mating? How can she be thinking about mating at a time like this? I must be mistaken,_ the hunter continued to think.

It didn't make any sense to him, her wanting rut while they were facing danger from all sides. From nowhere for no reason, she was thinking about rut, something so wrong at a time such as now. The sensible thing was for her to focus on survival. It was obvious she did not appreciate the hunt the way he did. She was not yautja and she was ignorant of the ways of yautja, but she did want to leave the temple. They both wanted to leave the temple whole. Leave it, but for different reasons. Leaving was the main objective nevertheless, and together they could do it, but only with clear heads. Both had to focus and both had to work towards their common goal.

_I must be mistaken,_ the Jaque'Su Knau thought persisted. _Or maybe it is me._

Maybe it was him who was thinking about mating and not the female in addition to his sense of smell was playing tricks on him. He could indeed be the one thinking of such things and not the female. It was inevitable, death could take him and he would not have tasted rut. The opportunity to have a female while enjoying the pleasures of engaging in _**hor'tan•**__**jh'ive, **_love fighting, would be lost to him. He would not sire a pup and somewhere in his mind that was unthinkable. He was worthy to have his bloodline continue through him. Maybe it was him thinking about what he would not have if he died in chiva. The possibility was real, the potential loss existed. Was it his fear, his longing? He had to know.

As he watched the female he could smell contentment on her and the intoxicating tang of her musk was still pungent and tantalizing him. He felt a stirring in his groin that he immediately suppressed it. This is _**hulij-bpe**_ the hunter thought not really knowing what to do. He did not want to succumb to his desires that were beginning to stir. Chiva was the focus not _**mehd'rg**_, mating. He had to keep a clear head. His chiva was not over and he had _not_ presented himself to the clan as a blooded.

_I am yautja and I will finish my chiva, I will maintain my strength and focus, I will succeed, I will become a warrior,_ Jaque'Su Knau reminded himself of his purpose for being on the backwater planet.

The smell that was coming from the female did not seem to be dying down and the yautja found it a little disturbing. Her smell was assaulting him and he couldn't completely concentrate with his thoughts. The intensity of the female's aroma kept the young hunter enthralled making him unable to get back to the business of the hunt.

_Will she cease with the temptation?_ He thought, wanting to do something rash, but wouldn't.

The last thing he needed to do was something he would regret later.

_Does she even know what she is doing?_ Jaque'Su Knau asked himself.

He didn't think that the ooman was aware of what she was suggesting with her musk, nor did he think she would be physically up to mating with him. It was looming large before him. Her musk was becoming a sexual challenge he did not want to back down form. Part of him wanted to acknowledge the challenge and the other part of him knew it was wrong. Rationality would prevail; he would do the right thing so she would definitely stop emitting the musk.

_This cannot happen, this will not happen,_ the young hunter reminded himself.

There would be not mating on chiva. He would not make rut with prey no matter how bleak things became for him. Honor and respect he would keep despite what his body and his _**ka'mak**_ were trying to convince him of. Keeping the faith in addition to believing he would survive chiva, he would mate first with his kind, always mate with his kind. He would not lower himself or become desperate with no self-control. Nor would he succumb to the female's musk and he would be strong. Strength would also be exercised in the arena of mating, along with the incredible self-discipline he possessed.

Desire and yearning were eating ravenously at his resolve. He was trying to mentally convince himself of what was appropriate. He would stay on track to do the right thing, but his body was working against him. His desires were not letting him be master. Heat radiating in groin was giving his _**ka'mak**_ the advantage.

_Paya help me to choose right,_ he thought feeling weak and knowing his rational mind was being hammered down by his lust.

Truth will be known. He was not alone in this struggle, his **mei-jadhi **was apart of the madness he was going through. She would decide. He would take his cues from her and he would let her guide him. Verbal communication between was inadequate and fundamental, but they were able to understand intent and interpret meaning through physical communication. There would be guidance and understanding through their touch.

_If she does no allow it, then it will not be done_, he thought with finality.

Through touch he would engage her. He would find out how she truly felt about him and he would completely respect and honor her wishes. Her _**no**_ will be _**no**_ while any and all attempts to satisfy his needs would cease. He had not planned an ooman being his first mate, but if Paya blessed his coupling with the female and allowed the female to live, then she would be the first he would mate with. First thing was first, he had to know if she wanted what he thought she wanted, to be his mate.

_I will see if you are true to your smell, ooman,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought as he prepared to test the female's true intentions.

He would push her away from him. Force her away if necessary and then he would see how much she struggled. If there was no struggle, then there is no interest. If there is struggle, then he would determine from the intensity of the struggle how much she wanted him. Gently gripping the female by her arms, Jaque'Su Knau felt her tense. Slowly he tried to remove her from his person and she resisted. She clung to him like an _**om'avhl **_and the young hunter growled in approval.

"So you want me," he said looking down at the female as he used more force to free himself from her.

It took a moment, but the hunter succeeded at prying the female's arms from his body. She was looking up at him with a disappointed expression on her face that was asking why he had forced her away.

_Interesting,_ he thought.

The smell of mating is still strong, but there is also some agitation mingled into her scent. She was not happy with losing the contact they had.

_Strange,_ he purred not knowing what to make of the female's behavior.

Once their bodies were separated, Jaque'Su Knau reached to his helm and released the hoses at the left side of his head.

If y_ou want me, then I will have to mark you as my own until I can properly mate you, _Jaque'Su Knau thought as he continued to release the hoses that fed him his breathing mixture.

Loudly the escaping gases hissed as the sound filled the room shattering the quiet. Jaque'Su Knau watched as the female blinked at the loud sharp sound the escaping gas made, but did not flinch away from him.

_When she sees my face she will be afraid, she will have fear. She will scream and I will put her away from me and this farce will be over._

Jaque'Su Knau was sure when the female saw his fearsome face she would lose her nerve and her true emotions would surface. He knew that oomans feared yautja and that the very raw presence of his kind would unnerve them and make them cower. Using both hands, the young hunter carefully removed his helm from his massive head and placed it to his right side. He wanted to give the female in his lap a full view of his face without interruption.

Waiting patiently for the female to scream and display the usual behavior of her kind when first seeing an unmasked yautja, the young hunter looked down at the female. Looking up at him, Jaque'Su Knau could see that the female was not afraid. She did not cringe or scream at the sight of him.

_How odd,_ he thought as he flexed his mandibles wide.

It felt good to move them around even if just for a moment. The ooman air wasn't as good as the air that he was accustomed to, but it was breathable even if just for short periods of time.

Releasing a quizzically growl as he regarded the female who seemed to be studying his face, the young hunter decided to oblige the female and give her a better look at him. Laughing inside as he did it, Jaque'Su Knau opened his mouth to give the ooman a better view. Fear would take her at the sight of his maw and she would put distance between them. He could only imagine what she was thinking as she saw the inside of his wicked looking mouth. His _**đm•g**__**ņ**__**ik-**__**ʃ-**__**ht**_, fangs, were in good form being sharp pointed and deadly with the force and power of his jaws he could crush just about anything besides metal and stone. His teeth were also in good form; the upper row of teeth were small and pointed with medium-size canines on either side that were shaped like _**ņ**__**aa**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**gah•**__**ʐ**__**hueł̣,**_ snake, fangs, the lower row of teeth, were pointed and treacherous. The sight was enough to make any creature in its right mind back away to safety. His deep inner blunt teeth were not as formidable. They were used for crushing and grinding. The larger less threatening teeth could not produce the unnerving effect he wanted from the female, so he didn't bother to show them to her.

Jaque'Su Knau let out a low grow satisfied the ooman was not _**a'daik**_ and had enough since to be afraid in front of fear. Despite her efforts to remain stoic and unmoved by his formidable appearance, he heard a gasp escape from the female but she didn't shrink away from him.

There was a hint of… _revulsion_ … in her scent and he scoffed at the notion. The insulting smell left her as fast as it came. How could any female be repulsed by him? Even before his chiva he was thought to be attractive by most females and now that he was blooded, he knew unequivocally that he would be able to have any female he wanted, especially when his trophy collection grew. So how could this unattractive pathetic excuse of a female be repulsed by him? She was hard on the eyes, he had to admit, but her courage and determination along with the fact that she had saved his life made her attractive to him. He would honor her and disregard her ignorance as well as the unintentional insult she had given him. He would proceed with marking her as his own.

There was something strange that pulled at Jaque'Su Knau telling him that the female would be loyal to him and marking her was the right thing to do. If he marked her then, she would be under his protection and if any yautja dared harm her, they would have to answer to him.

_Why will you give me your loyalty, _the young yautja thought as he cocked his head to the side and stared at the female?

For a moment their eyes locked on to each other. His close set golden eyes fastening on to her larger dark eyes. Jaque'Su Knau was mesmerized by the ooman.

"I will mark you as my own," Jaque'Su Knau said to the female as he continued to stare down at her.

There was not a sound uttered by the female, she just stared back at him.

"I don't know if you understand what I am saying, but if you resist I will stop, I will not force you against your will".

Silence continued, the female didn't say anything to Jaque'Su Knau, but he could smell trust strongly about her. She trusted him and therefore she would allow him to put his mark on her.

"Trust me," he purred to her.

He wanted her to trust him and not fear what he was going to do to her. She probably couldn't understand his words, but she could definitely get a sense of his intent towards her.

Not knowing if he could actually perform the _**mah'sadh-fuvdevk li'tiur**_, Jaque'Su Knau had committed himself to doing it. He was going to put forth his best efforts to carry out the ritual correctly so it would be acceptable to _Paya_ if not to any one else. He knew enough about what he should do to mark a female, even though he wasn't old enough or experienced enough to do so.

Usually such a ritual was reserved for older seasoned yautjas who had sown their wild oats, sired many pups and were ready to commit themselves to only one. The ritual would bind them as one with the yautjas agreeing publically and privately to protect and honor the other. The young yautja knew he had sown no oats at all and if he had any hopes of protecting the ooman he was becoming attracted to he had to mark her. He would be doing her an act of kindness by saving her life from his kind. Once she was safe and among her own, he would move on and continue to live his life to its fullest.

Jaque'Su Knau stopped purring at the ooman to tell her what w was going to do to her.

"Ooman, I will mark you," the yautja began again, more for his benefit, than the female. "I will drink from you as you have drunk from me." He continued but she didn't respond, just silently looked up at him.

He wanted her to continue agreeing with the ritual. It was important that she agreed for both their sakes. So far she hadn't protested or smelled of fear. Jaque'Su Knau took the current mood of the female to be positive and the yautja decided to continue. Carefully he pulled her to him and supported her back with one hand as he took her small slim dark neck into his second hand. Her skin felt foreign to him. Soft and supple to the touch and in a strange way erotic. Seductively he purred at her and she yielded slightly to him.

_Stop that Jaque'Su Knau,_ he scolded himself in his mind.

There was no cause to be anxious about the female. She was just his _mei-jadhi_, to be rescued from a certain death if left unprotected. He had to convince himself he was doing this to protect her and not because he wanted to mate her. Confusion was all about him, but if he could hold on to the noble intent he had created, then the thoughts of having _**hor'tan•**__**jh'ive**_ with the female would be driven far from him.

Shaking the thought of mating the female from his mind, he decided to get a better view of the area he would drink from. Lightly, Jaque'Su Knau pushed the female's hair to the side and exposed her bare flesh. It was pure and unmarked. He purred at her neck although it had no markings on it.

_**Qer'sem**_, virgin, he thought of the ooman flesh.

If it were scarred he would have been more excited about it purring to let the female know that he would thoroughly enjoy marking her. The ooman had not been severely damaged in battle as of yet, but he knew she had sustained some wounds from himself and from the hardmeats since they'd been hunting together. There was some scars on her body, so there would be some parts of her really worth getting worked up over, but not her neck.

Red _**thwei**_, blood, stained coverings she wore. He was sure at least one of the hardmeats had marked her and the _**dea'chu'ik-kul**_, facehugger, he had pulled from her head had scared her. He could see the dried _thwei_ matted in the fur atop her head. The slim neck felt breakable and delicate in his large hand. He had to be careful not to harm the ooman during the ritual, to do so would dishonor him forever.

As he stared at the ooman's neck he saw a raised protrusion running the length of the slim neck. He watched as the artery pulsed beneath his thumb when she breathed. This was what he was looking for, her _thwei._ Inspecting the long artery he let his talon trace the length of the large vessel on her neck.

_**Ui'aisuhis, **_beautiful, Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself.

The neck of the female was very attractive and he felt he would have no problem performing the ritual on her.

Slowly the yautja moved his thumb across the side of the ooman's neck as he held her in his hand. He did appreciate the texture of her skin and he wanted to remember how it felt against his own. Hearing the ooman gasp softly and feeling her shiver slightly brought Jaque'Su Knau out of his thoughts. He stopped the attentive stroking of her neck.

_Have I hurt her? Is she displeased?_ He thought and he looked at the female.

Taking in her scent, the yautja found that on the contrary the female very much enjoyed him touching her neck in the manner in which he was. Watching as she closed her eyes, the hunter purred at her. He felt her body relax and it pleased him. The stirring in his groin returned and he thanked Paya for the metal armor he wore; it was keeping his unruly_** ka'mak**_ under control. Making sure that single minded organ did not alert the ooman to its craving. It was like the thing had a mind of its own and it thought nothing of propriety, only its satisfaction.

"Yes," the young hunter rumbled low as he watched the female open her eyes.

Staring back at her, he slowly moved his face closer to hers until his long black locks draped over them both and curtained them from the exterior world. For now, the yautja only knew himself and the female he was holding his arms as the only two beings that existed. Jaque'Su Knau continued his purring as he returned his the attentive stroking of her neck with his taloned thumb allowing it to trace the length of her pulsating artery. He wanted her to be as calm and as relaxed as she could possibly be for the ritual. At no point should she resist him, if she did fight against him while he was drinking her, it could end badly for her. She could bleed out before he had an opportunity to repair the damage that was done.

_Relax and trust me,_ the young hunter thought.

Without warning the ooman's scent changed. It was anxious. He could feel the thwei rushing though the large vein in her neck as it began to pulse faster under his thumb.

_This is not good,_ he thought knowing that if he bit her at that very moment, her _thwei_ would leave her body so fast that he would not be able to seal the holes with his _**ens'suejirens**_ in time.

"You must relax or I cannot perform the _**mah'sadh-fuvdevk li'tiur**_," he growled low at the female.

He didn't know if she understood what he was saying, but she did need to relax. Needed to relax or he could not mark her.

Instead of relaxing, her breathing quickened and her small chest began to rise and fall faster. This was not good and he had to get her under control and quick.

"YOU… MUST… RELAX…" Jaque'Su Knau said in a low determined voice emphasizing each word he spoke.

If she didn't get control over her breathing and the apprehension that was rising in her, he would have to end the ritual without leaving his mark on her. Not leaving his mark would mean he would probably not be able to protect her the way he wanted to protect her.

Growling again in frustration, the young hunter lowered his massive head toward the female's neck and she did the oddest thing, she presented her flesh to him.

"_V'hak -de_…." Jaque'Su Knau gasped in confusion. _What is she doing,_ he though realizing the ooman was giving him _very_ mixed signals?

One moment she's terrified and the next moment she wants to do it. Now, she clearly wanted him to drink her but he was unsure of what the outcome would be. He wasn't sure if it was the real deal or if she would change her mind at the last moment.

Jaque'Su Knau heard the female's strained panting as she deliberately tried to control her breathing and slow the rushing of the _thwei_ in her body. The hunter knew the female was trying to find her calm and she wanted to cooperate but it was difficult for her. He could smell the forged bravery the small female was mustering and he understood that she was going through great pains to keep her eyes opened when he sensed she wanted to close them.

_I better do this while she is calm or I'll probably never have an opportunity to do it again, _the young hunter thought to himself. _Paya please let me do this right and not damage the ooman,_ Jaque'Su Knau prayed knowing his unskilled attempt could end-up being fatal.

Without wasting any more time, the yautja lowered his head as he brought the ooman's neck closer to his anxious mouth.

Pausing before he made contact with the ooman's flesh, the hunter inhaled the female's musk. It was most pleasing. He purred low at her. Now the female smelled as if she wanted him to mate her without question. His _ka'mak_ was trying to succumb to the female's desires, but his armor held the disorderly organ at bay.

_For Paya's sake female…control your scent_, Jaque'Su Knau thought frustrated with the female's barrage of conflicting scents.

She was making him lose concentration and waste time when time was a precious commodity for them now. He had to stay on track with his task. He had prayed for Paya to grant him time with the female, but like yautja, the goddess of life could grow impatient with wastefulness.

Growling in irritation, the hunter pushed the ooman's scent aside and spread his mandibles wide to grip the female's neck. Hearing her breathe quicken and smelling her scent change, yet again, he ignored her and proceeded with the ritual. He had to take total control of the situation and do what needed to be done. She was part of the ritual, but she was not guiding it. He took cues from her for permissions to perform the ritual; she had given him what he needed; now he had to finish what he started. Had she been yautja he would let her guide him, but she wasn't and she knew nothing of what was to be done so he had to do what was necessary without her input.

As gently as he could, Jaque'Su Knau touched her hair with his lower tusks. The damp wavy fur felt strange to him, but he surmised that he could become accustomed to it. Tenderly he stroked the ooman's head gaining his confidence to complete the ritual. Again her breathing tensed, but the young hunter paid her anxiety and inhibition no heed, he was going to mark her and they both would be the better for it.

"Relax…" he said through his purring, "…relax and close your eyes." Slowly and lightly he stroked her.

Again, her small body relaxed in his arms and he heard her release a meaningful sigh in approval.

_It pleases her,_ he thought and his purring faltered.

He was learning at a most awkward time what the female liked and did not like. When it was time to properly mate her, half his battle would be solved and he would have little difficulty having her submit to his will.

_In time I will have you, _he purred thinking that Paya was continuing to be very generous to him by passing the shifting of the chamber they were in.

_It must be Paya's will that I mark her,_ he continued to think, but he didn't want to take for granted the benevolence of his god.

Soon they would have to return to the hunt and leave the temple.

Hastening what he was doing realizing that time was of the essence, he moved his large _**nihkou'te'l,**_ tusks and touched her small slender dark neck. The darker solid color of her soft skin was quite a contrast to his lighter speckled large hands. They were two very different beings and a speck of doubt flicked into his mind asking him if he was doing the right thing.

_She must live, _came a strong thought that immediately extinguished the small negative speck.

Irritated with the negative thought, Jaque'Su Knau commenced to caressing the small neck with his smaller upper _**nihkou'te'l**_. He wanted every part of him to experience the female and he wanted to remember her. How she looked, how she smelled and especially how she felt. Slowly and deliberately his _nihkou'te'l _traced the length of the female's protruding artery. A single salacious soft gasp, escaped the female and the hunter's _ka'mak _responded. He faltered just briefly in his concentration and then he resumed his purring and stroking the female. Again he thanked Paya for his metal armor; now was not the time for what the single-minded organ wanted.

_**"Psisursu i'ars zi'asuhursu," **_he thought. Prudence and patience were the things needed to get through the simple, yet complicated ritual.

He could feel the small body relaxing in his arms and she began to smell of trust. _Yes_, he thought he needed her to trust him so she could relax.

It was time.

Jaque'Su Knau continued by opening his mouth, and lowering it to the female's soft flesh. Pausing, while realizing there was no turning back, he felt the female shiver in his arms. He could not help himself, but he felt himself drool on the female's neck. Immediately, as to cover his mishap, the hunter's tongue slid out of his parted mouth and moved up the female's neck to retrieve the premature moisture. Once the drool was recovered, he allowed his tongue to slide up and down the artery protruding from the supple soft neck. He thought she would shrink away from his probing, but she didn't; her scent still smelled of trust.

Smoothly, he continued to glide his tongue over the soft flesh. In one unified motion, all four of Jaque'Su Knau's mandibles attached gently to the ooman's face so he could hold her in place while he penetrated her. Holding her with the right amount of pressure; he didn't want to alarm or frighten her. He breathed in her scent and it was still that of trust.

"It is time, female," Jaque'Su Knau said in a deep rumbling and clicking voice.

He didn't like the idea of calling her female, but he did not know her name and he would have to tell her his. _After this is over; _came a quick thought. Without further delay, the young hunter opened his mouth, bared his fangs and sunk them into the warm throbbing artery of the ooman's neck.

At contact of his fangs to the female's artery, she instantly stiffened in his arms. A moment passed and he wanted to see what the female would do. As if on cue the small female began to breathe in short and hard breaths. The hunter thought she was hyperventilating but there was nothing he could do for her, he had to finish what he started.

The female began to feel warm in Jaque'Su Knau's arms. He felt moisture coming from her skin dripping into his large hand.

_I have to finish this,_ he thought to himself concerned by the female's sudden change in temperature.

He didn't think he was hurting her. He didn't smell pain on her, just fear and lots of it. Clamping down on her soft skin with his fangs, he carefully pressed his top row of small teeth into her dark skin being careful not to hurt her. If she was yautja there would not be as much precaution, but because she was frail he had to be careful. He felt the female's body as it began to shudder which brought on more concern.

_Must finish this,_ he thought, sinking his fangs deeper into her agreeable flesh.

Closer he pressed his mouth to her neck.

_Succulent,_ he thought tasting her warm blood.

As Jaque'Su Knau's began to drink the invigorating blood of the ooman he felt each beat of her heart, as her blood pulsed flowing through her arteries. Never had he taste anything so delectable and luscious. It was like he was privileged and his desires were being answered. He felt the connection growing between them. It was like a small fire that was being kindled and stoked.

As he drank from the female he became more aware of the ooman and could clearly hear the beating of her heart as it pumped inside her body and her scent was becoming clearer and sharper to him. Had she been yautja, she would be having the same experience he was having. She would become more attuned and connected to him on different levels. She'd be able to clearly hear the beating of his hearts as they pushed the blood inside his body. His musk would become clearer and sharper to her. He would be unique to her and she'd be able to pick his unique scent out in a crowded room. She would know what his emotions and feelings were before anyone else.

He began to lose himself in the ritual as he tasted every sweet drop that flowed from the female. The sensual pleasure he got form drinking her made him want to drink her forever, he craved her and wanted more.

He felt the female go limp after her moments of shuddering and recognized that he was drinking her too fast. _Must slow down_, he thought to himself knowing he was losing control. The loss of his control could be fatal for the ooman. He did not want to kill her, to kill her would bring shame and dishonor to himself and his sire's bloodline.

Inclining his head slightly to look at the female he could see something strange was happening with her. The small female's eyes began to flutter and roll back in her head so that only the whites of her eyes were showing.

_Paya please,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought, he knew that he was losing the female.

"Stay with me… stay with me female…" the young hunter growled to the ooman while purring deeply at her.

He heard and felt her blood slow its rush though her body; he was connected to her and she to him. Jaque'Su Knau's consciousness at the moment was more dominant than the female's making him more sensitive to her physically; he could feel what was happening inside her. Pressing her closer to him, the hunter brought the female to his chest and tried to reach out to her with his purring. His purring had worked on her in the past and now he needed it to work on her again. He had to draw her away from _Cetanu's_ door. He had not brought her back to lose her again so quickly.

Louder he purred to her.

"Come back to me," he said knowing she did not understand him even if she heard him; but he had to let her know that he wanted her with him.

He had to say something, do something to save her. He continued to drink, but not as fast, he had to take his time and control what he was doing or else he would error. He had to complete the ritual or his efforts and her submitting to the ritual would be in vain.

After a while, he heard her breaths as they began to return slower and more natural to her. Jaque'Su Knau sensed that she was returning to consciousness and he thanked Paya for not allowing Cetanu to take the female from him. The yautja knew that he was inexperienced and that attempting the ritual was something beyond him, but he had to try it would be the only way for her to survive among his kind, around his kind.

On first sight, a yautja would try to kill the female and take her head as a trophy and he would not allow that to happen to his _mei-jadhi._ Jaque'Su Knau knew the ritual would make her more than a hunt sister, but for now, he would settle with her as his sister so she would have a chance to live.

_Trust,_ came the emotion and smell from the ooman in his arms.

She still trusted him, and still had faith in him. Jaque'Su Knau trilled softly for the ooman's loyalty towards him. He was determined not to betray the trust she had for him and he intended to make sure they both finished chiva and left the temple with their lives and their honor.

He felt the female's throat move under the pressure of his mouth and he heard her take a breath. Again, the yautja trilled softly in approval, she was strong and she would recover from the ritual. He knew that oomans were weak, but his _mei-jadhi_ was proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had fortitude and stamina. Her determination for life was sustaining her when nothing else seemed like it could and the fact that she had his support also gave her the edge she needed to be strong.

Now that the female was out of danger, Jaque'Su Knau let his yautja tongue rove all over her neck, he wanted to feel and taste her so he would remember. He made his flexible explore as much of her as he could while his smaller upper teeth continued to press into the softness of her flesh.

_Time to end this,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought feeling so very close to the female. He wasn't sure of what was suppose to specifically occur during the ritual, but he knew he was now changed and he felt closely connected to the ooman. He felt like she was becoming a part of him and he wondered if she was feeling the same as himself.

The yautja continued purring at the female and the sense of trust continued to flow from her. _Need?_ He thought he smelled need coming from the female; she needed him? _Of course she needs you, _came a thought _… and you need her _came another thought_._ They needed each other to survive and the yautja was intent on seeing that they did.

_**Sazil, **_Jaque'Su Knau thought, the female was thinking of him as a lover, how could she have such feeling for him and she did not know him? Maybe the ritual had changed her completely and in a most radical way. Maybe he was more potent than he thought he actually was and the bond that was forged between them because of the ritual was more intense than he imagined. She thought of him as a _sazil,_ her lover.

Again he felt liquid began to drench the hand that was holding her delicate neck and he heard her breathing quicken. Her _thwei,_ also began to quicken its movement in her body which meant that more would be coming out if he didn't seal the punctures to her skin he had made.

_**Ac'sdu'sav, **_thought surprised, the female was experiencing ecstasy with the ritual.

The thought of him making the female feel such an intense emotion puffed the young yautja up. He had never had a female before, never made _**rut**_**,** but if this experience with the ooman was any indication of what his sex life would be like with females, then he was going to enjoy being _sazil_.

The female began to stir and the young hunter noticed that her breathing had become rhythmic bordering a panting sound. The moisture from her neck and hair continued leaving his hand wet with her scent. The female smelled like she was ready to _**sla'dus'naz,**_ climax. The sweet seductive smell was torturous to his olfactory senses and his _ka'mak_; and for a third time he thanked Paya for his armor. When the time was right, he would allow his _ka'mak_ to be unbridle, but for not he would have to keep it under control. Jaque'Su Knau wasn't sure if the female was aware of how she was tormenting him, but she was doing a damned good job of it. If he didn't finish the ritual soon, then the kiande amedha will stumble upon them like they were and they would not be able to defend themselves.

_Pain_, he felt it through their bond.

She was in pain and he was the cause of it. He felt her put her small hands on his chest and tried to push him away. It was a weak attempt, but she did try. Now she wanted him off her. Again she tried to push him away as her blunt soft fingernails began to claw at him through his _**nekh.**_ He was glad she wasn't yautja or she would have clawed his chest up.

_I'm almost finished,_ he thought as he began to produce the _**ens'suejirens,**_ anticoagulant, in his fangs that would stop her bleeding from the puncture wounds and would eventually seal off the holes that would be quite visible on her neck.

Sealing the wounds he had made in her flesh, could not be rushed and he could not pull his teeth from her neck before the holes were properly sealed, else she'd bleed to death. He would restrain her while he finished, and she would just have to wait. It was for her personal safety.

He ignored her weak tirades against him and he continued to produce the thick mucus that would be used to seal the holes he had made on her neck. She didn't realize what a sensitive procedure the _mah'sadh-fuvdevk li'tiur_ was and she didn't realize how much danger she was in at the moment, so he had to totally ignore her and so he could do what he had to do.

Once he had produced enough _ens'suejirens_ he slowly released it from his fangs as he carefully pulled them out of her soft flesh. He had to be careful to release the right amount so the healing would be proper. Once both fangs were completely removed from her flesh, Jaque'Su Knau used his tongue to secure the seal the thick mucus was to make on holes. Assiduously he let his tongue smoothly glide her flesh, he wanted to be kind to her neck because he knew he had just submitted her to something that was beyond her and it probably wasn't pleasant by ooman standards. Letting his tongue linger on the silky soft flesh longer than necessary they yautja took the opportunity to savor _his_ female. The ritual was complete and now she was his.

Deftly he wove his taloned fingers through her damp her. He wanted to enjoy her just a little longer before they had to move again, before he marked her as a warrior.

_There is much for us to learn about each other, _Jaque'Su Knau thought as he purred to her a little stronger. He would teach her what she needed to survive among his people and she would do well. Now thoughts of her returning with him to his clan were creeping into his head. He had no indication of whether she would go with him or if it would be an acceptable request, but his mind was wanting her.

Looking at his achievement, the young hunter growled profoundly pleased with himself. He was no honored hunter, at least not yet, but he could honestly say that he had done an impressive job of bonding the ooman. They were linked and she would be protected.

Finally, Jaque'Su Knau pulled away from the female but continued to hold her by her neck supporting her. She looked so small and fragile in his arms. Now he could smell the sweet fragrance of her blood. It was like an engaging bouquet to him and he had savored every drop of her.

He could still smell the overpowering aroma; _there must be some around my mouth_, he thought as his tongue slithered out and lapped up the remaining blood.

He heard the female gasp lightly and he looked at her. She smelled of disgust… she was disgusted with what she saw.

_What's wrong with you,_ he thought. _There was nothing disgusting about the ritual it was beautiful_.

He thought getting perturbed with the female for insulting his work of art with her smell.

"_**Ui'aisuhis!**_" he growled firmly at her.

What he had done, what they had experienced together coupled with the fact that they were now bounded was BEAUTIFUL! Beautiful and no one, not even she could change the truth.

_Trust._

Now he smelled trust from her and he could feel it in their bond.

_Paya give me strength with this female,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought to himself.

She was all over the place with how she was feeling and how she smelled and everything contradicted everything else. The female was a jumble of conflicting feelings, emotions and scent. He didn't know exactly how he was going to deal with the new found connection in addition to whether or not her confusing scent and emotions were going to get in the way of them finishing _chiva_. There was also the little problem of her mating musk. It was strong and it was demanding to be heard and his _ka'mak_ was listening very attentively to it. He was definitely going to have problems with her musk. Growling again in frustration and thinking he may have created an even bigger problem for them both, the young hunter contemplated his potential problem.

Deciding not to dwell on the subject and knowing it was time to leave the chamber, the young hunter checked to see the progress of the puncture wounds. Gently rubbing his thumb over the soft warm flesh, Jaque'Su Knau growled pleased with how the wound was healing. He could have used his medikit on her so her wounds would heal perfectly, but he didn't want them to heal perfectly, he wanted her flesh to scar so everyone could see that he had marked her and she belonged to him. He knew that the pricking from his fangs would be little to no pain for a yautja, but for the ooman it would probably hurt like hell because they were softer and frailer.

A sudden bolt of pain shot through the bond and the female gasped loudly in pain as he touched the fresh wounds on her neck.

_Yep,_ he thought, it hurts like hell.

_"Motherfuck!"_ he heard her say in ooman.

He didn't know what the word meant, but he was sure it wasn't anything good at all. If what she said was any indication of how she was feeling at the moment, he would have to be careful to avoid touching her neck.

Jaque'Su Knau looked at the female wandering if he had done the right thing and thinking maybe he had been too impulsive. He was still young and inexperienced which meant he probably didn't make the best decision for the situation. He didn't know what the outcome would be or if the clan would honor what he had done to the ooman. He had opened a door of problems for himself and he wasn't sure if he was ready to walk through that door.

_Will she be committed to me and the bond? _Jaque'Su Knau thought.

Did she even know what the bond meant or that she was now bonded to him.

_She probably doesn't know,_ he thought. _How could she know?_

As ooman she would know nothing of their ways and he would have to teach her.

_You are mine_, he thought fiercely, _you are mine and I will teach you. You will survive, we will survive together._

"Because you are mine I will teach you," Jaque'Su Knau growled soft and low at the female as he purred.

He didn't want her to be afraid of him, he wanted her to trust him and be loyal to him the way that he knew she could be. He had smelled both trust and loyalty on the female. Looking into her eyes; he tried to search her soul wanting to know if he had made the right choice. Suddenly she turned away from him and the distinct smell of fear cloaked her.

"Do not fear me," he growled low to the female, and then he felt her relax as he continued to purr at her.

Jaque'Su Knau allowed himself to release a little of the tension he was feeling at the moment.

She lay in his arms saying nothing just staring back at him and the young hunter was resolved to let her linger. He felt contentment in the bond between them.

_She must be ready to leave;_ he thought and knew she was right,

It was time to leave and their time was far spent in the chamber, but the stone had not shifted as of yet. There was no telling when new passage way would open up, but he wanted to be ready.

_Paya protects us,_ Jaque'Su Knau thought as he thanked his god for continuing to watch over them. For a moment longer he looked at her; then he carefully, he released her neck.

Carefully he adjusted the female to a sitting position in his lap and was glad that his _ka'mak _was finally under control. It had become dispirited and was at a normal stage of resting.

_Time to go,_ the yautja thought as he repositioned the female into a sitting position in his lap. He moved her easily like a pup and she gave him no resistance.

Now that she was bonded to him, Jaque'Su Knau wanted her to have a token of their bond from him.

_**Ja'uaus-loms'rast'l**_, he thought suddenly.

He would give her one of the twin ringlets from his hair that was made of _**sukmos val'la'dhiim**_. The ringlets were of his personal design being the only two of their kind. As a _pup_, he had worked and forged them when he was ten _turns_ of age. He had selected _**r'nes'ens**_ as his second _**ac'cive'dian**_, occupation, because he was good with his hands found making things from metal fascinating. Being a hunter was his first love, but smiting was his second choice in life.

_She will like it,_ the yautja thought to himself as he reached to his hair to remove the ringlet.

"This is for you," he started as he reached for her small hand.

He was feeling honor as he thought about what he was doing.

"It is a _ja'uaus-loms'rast _that I have made. I want you to have it to remind you of me," he finished and holding the crystal ringlet in front of her rotating it so she could get a better look the hair ornament.

Holding her hand, he looked at it for the right finger to place the _ja'uaus-loms'rast_ on. They were all so petite. He didn't quite know which finger to place the ringlet on. He thought since he made the _ja'uaus-loms'rast_ when he was a pup, then it would fit her since it was smaller than any of the other ringlets he wore in his hair. Contemplating, a perplexed look came to his face as his mandibles began to twitch.

_They're all so small_, he thought to himself.

Spying the females thumb and determining that it was larger than the rest of her slim delicate fingers he decided that the thumb would be the best choice.

Jaque'Su Knau watched the female as she admired the _ja'uaus-loms'rast_ he had placed on her finger. A smell of appreciation exuded from the female. The young hunter knew she was pleased with the gift and a sense of awe flowed in the bond between them.

_Perhaps she thinks it's_ _**ui'aisuhis**_, he thought to himself as he growled softly in appreciation.

For a moment longer he watched as she turned her hand back and forth admiring her new gift. It was as if she had never seen anything like the _ja'uaus-loms'rast_. Perhaps she hadn't seen anything like the small ringlet. It was such a common thing to him, especially since he had made it. Her scent was still filled with awe and appreciation.

"This is its mate," the yautja growled softly to the female; "…it is the mate of the _ja'uaus-loms'rast_ as I am your mate," he continued and the ooman looked up at him from appreciating her present. Easily he glided a long black lock of hair,_** ja'uaus,**_ across his massive chest and showed the female the twin to the _sukmos val'la'dhiim_ ringlet she had on her thumb.

Waiting for a moment longer, he allowed her a moment to admire both _ja'uaus-loms'rast'l_, as she touched the one he wore on his lock of hair. She placed them side by side as he she lightly held his lock and began to gently stroke it between her small fingers. He could feel himself responding to her touch. His _ka'mak_ was beginning to stir again and that was not good.

"Our time is over—," he growled and clicked at her.

By the blank look on her face, he knew she didn't understand what he had said and he knew he had to show her in order for her to respond. It was time for her to be out of his lap and time for his _ka'mak_ to stop its stirring.

Without wasting a moment, Jaque'Su Knau reached to the side and retrieved his helm. Quickly and deftly he attached the mask to his face and immediately it began to adhere to his flesh and then he attached the breathing hoses. There was further decompression with the mask and then he could feel the breathing mixture begin to flow freely in his helm. Being able to breathe in the life sustaining mixture made the young hunter inhale deeply to fill his three lungs. He let out a low growl of satisfaction before he removed he ooman from his lap.

He chuckled to himself when he heard the female gasped when he lifted her like she was nothing and deposited to her the right of him. At first she looked as if she would topple over, but after a few moments she got her bearing and began to move with a little confidence.

There was a sense of vigor and enthusiasm flowing through the bond. Again he was pleased. She was ready to resume the hunt and he was ready to give her the mark of his clan.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Once the _**mah'sadh-fuvdevk li'tiur **_was over, Jaque'Su Knau prepared to give the ooman the mark of his clan. He watched the female as she stretched her limbs and tested her strength.

_She is preparing to continue the hunt, _he thought and growled satisfied with her hunter spirit.

From the bond he also knew that she was ready to continue the hunt. He was ready to continue and hopefully meet up with his hunt brothers before they left the temple. As the ooman flexed her body he went to retrieve their weapons.

As he walked over to the female she watched him and he felt her excitement through the bound at the new weapons he was carrying. Her eyes were glued to all the things he carried in his right hand; they were the things that belonged to her.

"These are your things," he said as he placed the new weapons he had made on the ground beside her along with her hardmeat spear and shield. Not knowing how long they had before the chamber they were in shifted, Jaque'Su Knau thought it was a good time to put his clan mark on her _**kus'uhuab**_, forehead. She had earned the mark in _chiva_ and he was going to give it to her.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Lex saw her spear and her shield. She was happy the hunter had collected them for her. She had no idea what had happened to them once she started screaming when the puss-colored spider-crab-like thing had jumped on her head and tried to latch on to her face. All she could think about was getting the thing off, nothing else mattered, not even her weapons. Now she was looking at them and she was glad. The hunter had remembered her. In his hand she also saw some more weapons that were made out of the black serpent body parts. The new weapons looked like knives, a wicked kind of brass knuckles and javelins.

_That is some cool shit,_ she thought to herself wondering how and why they hunter had made them.

Had he made them for himself or….Lex caught her breath when she saw the small black mask looking thing among the stuff that the hunter held.

_It's for me,_ she thought knowing the mask was too small for the hunter and the weapons he used made the stuff he had made look like a kids toys.

She heard the hunter growl and click something at her as he dropped her things to the ground beside her, but held the small black mask in his right hand. She didn't look up at the hunter, but instead looked down as the new things he had made for her. She started to pick up her weapons and he growled something to her that made her look at him.

Once she looked up at him and he knew he had her full attention, he started talking to her in his language. He spoke in clicks, trills and growls, but she didn't know what he was saying. Listening attentive she waited for the hunter to finish seeing what he would do next. It was obvious to her that whatever he was saying she was supposed to agree with; it has something of importance to him.

Watching in silence, she saw the hunter take what looked like a spindly leg from one of the puss-colored creatures that had jumped her. She watched the hunter as he took the pointed tip of the dead creature's claw and deftly started to carve a symbol in the front of the small black mask, right in the center. The place where he was carving looked lighter than the rest of the obsidian black and she thought that maybe he had thinned it out so the acid could burn through it.

_Holy shit_, she thought, remembering what she had seen the hunter do when she and Sebastian were waiting for the pyramid to shift.

He was marking the small black mask with the same mark that was on his own mask.

_If he's marking the small mask and the small mask is for me, then he's going to….. Oh shit no…, _Lex's mind screamed.

The blood of the black serpents was made of acid and if she wasn't mistaken, he was planning to write on her skin with acid.

_Fuck no_… she thought, _not acid._

All she could do was think about the caustic hazardous liquid eating through her skin and moving on to her skull and the next thing she would be was dead. She wanted to move away from the hunter but she was frozen and paralyzed where she stood. The only thing she could do was watch as he made two graceful strokes on the thinned out part of the black mask at its center. She heard the acid sizzle as it wicked ate through the thinned section of what was the head of one of the black serpents.

_Not my skull,_ she thought.

Once the hunter had finished making his mark on the black mask he looked at Lex and growled something at her. She didn't have to understand him to know that it was her time to get carved. Her legs still would not obey, but her heart started pumping her blood through her like she was running for her life. She should be running for her life, she wished she was running for her life, but she wasn't she was paralyzed with fear.

_This is it,_ she thought to herself. He was going to make her part of his tribe and kill her in the process; _what an honor,_ she thought sarcastically_ a fitting way for a hunter to die._

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

Making his clan's mark on the kiande amedha mask that he had made for the ooman went well, he was glad that he had taken the time to grind the skull so it would be more receptive to the acid blood he would be using as ink. He mused to himself that he was making a second set of his clan's mark on helm and forehead. When he started his _chiva_ he had no idea he would be doing what he was doing now and wasn't sure if any yautja had encountered what he had encountered during _chiva_. Marking the female's hardmeat mask and her forehead would be easier than it had been for him doing his own. He would take his time and be more delicate with the process especially when he marked the ooman's _kus'uhuab_.

He smelled fear on the female and felt it through the bond they shared.

_She must calm herself,_ he thought as he temporarily attached the female's mask to his belt.

He was going to need both his hands to mark her. By her scent, he thought she might try to run from him.

_Paya, please don't let her run, _Jaque'Su Knau thought saying a little prayer to his god.

The female was unpredictable and was subject to do anything. Jaque'Su Knau just hoped that she didn't do anything stupid. He didn't want to maim her or accidently kill her while trying to mark her.

"It is time," he growled low and he took a step closer to the female.

Waiting for a moment he wanted to see if she would run from him. Her scent was still strong with fear and so was the feeling that was in their bond. She was very afraid. He lifted his large taloned hand that held the hardmeat claw towards her small forehead as his free hand moved to push back the still damp fur to expose the surface he would be marking. The female continued to reek of fear, but she inclined her head towards him.

"You are brave my little _mei-jadhi_," Jaque'Su Knau said as he began to purr at the female.

Her scent began to relax and he began to feel trust in their bond. Carefully and delicately he made the mark of his clan on the ooman and he growled pleased with himself. The female made no sound as he marked her and when he had finished. She gave him a slight nod of gratitude. He watched as she did something with the fur atop her head; she secured the long black fur some kind of way so that it exposed the small forehead giving his clan mark prominence on her face. Reaching for her mask at his waist he gave it to her and motioned for her to put it on.

Suddenly there was a loud swishing sound, and then a thunderous boom sound began sounding as if something was crashing hard against something else and then Jaque'Su Knau knew it was nearing time to leave.

_The temple is shifting,_ he thought and he knew that he would not have time to show the female how to use the _**bakuub**_ or the _**zh'flauka-yim fru'kek**_.

He hoped that she was smart enough to use the weapons without hurting herself.

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**GIVE a shout out to the Characters with your review.**

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**Vocabulary/translation**

(Have fun with these words and translations… I did… feel free to use them)

**(Words…)**

_**a'daik **_fool, idiot

_**ac'cive'dian**_ occupation

**bakuub **straight spear

**Cetanu** Death

_**Chu'khah! **_"wow!"

_**dea'chu'ik-kul**_ facehugger

_**đm•g**__**ņ**__**ik-**__**ʃ-**__**ht **_fangs

_**ens'suejirens**_ anticoagulant

_**faut'tla a'uza**_ battle axe

_**hor'tan**__**•**__**jh'ive **_love fighting

**hulij-bpe** crazy

_**ja'uaus **_hair

_**ja'uaus-loms'rast'l **_hair ringlets

_**ka'mak**_ penis

_**k'os-khuc**_ sat-com; the sat-com is a computer housed in the wrist console, which projects holographic schematics of a particular object or building. As well as functioning as a global positioning unit, the sat-com can also display the position (and damage radius) of mines or laser nets in the area

_**kr'ulos'l**_ drones

_**kus'uhuab **_forehead

_**mah'sadh-fuvdevk li'tiur **_mated-bonding ritual

_**mehd'rg **_mating

_**mei'hswei'l**_ brothers

**mei-jadhi **sister

_**nekh **_body mesh, padding

_**ņ**__**aa**__**·**__**ʃ**__**·**__**gah•**__**ʐ**__**hueł̣**_ snake

_**nihkou'te'l **_tusks

_**om'avhl**_ a leech-like creature that is slimy on it underbelly and has s thin layer of fur which is speckled florescent pink and green, tiny quill-like hairs on its top or back; the only defense the creature has is the paralyzing hairs that are on its back; each hair or quill injects the victim with a paralyzing orange substance which temporarily stuns the attacker and allows the _om'avhl _to get away; the _om'avhl _is primarily found tin tropical areas on the yautja's homeworld of Yaut; these slug-like creatures attach themselves to the trunks and branches of trees and are hard to be removed.

_**pup **_baby; small child

_**qer'sem**_ virgin

_**r'nes'ens**_ smiting; working metal at the forge

_**relk**_ hunt

**rut** sex

_**ru'hnir –saunis zh'flauka**_ razor blade

_**sla'dus'naz **_climax

_**sukmos val'la'dhiim**_ a type of cosmic palladium; a precious alien metal that looks like transparent gold; the composition of the metal makes it look like it is in constant flux which gives it the appearance of constant motion, like waves rippling on a shore

**thwei** blood

_**ui'aisuhis **_beautiful

_**vhe'ln **_well

_**zh'flauka-yim fru'kek **_fauxbladed knuckles; a rough, crude form of the high tech yautja bladed knuckles; they're like brass knuckles with small sharp cutting and stabbing jagged knife-like blades at knuckle region; the weapon is made of sections from the kiande amedha's spine.

**(Phrases…)**

"_**Relk vhe'ln mwei'lei mei'hswei'l"**_ "Hunt well my brothers"

_**V'hak -de cho't! **_What the hell!

**oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo**

**Please review this chapter. I would love to get your feedback.**

**I look forward to hearing from you!**

_**From The Author**_


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